Gordon Hayward is heading to the Boston Celtics. That’s now official, thanks to The Players Tribune. But there was confusion for a few hours on July 4, even though Hayward to Boston was reported by ESPN’s Chris Haynes earlier in the day.
Gordon Hayward’s agent said no decision made, moments after Hayward to Celtics was reported
NBA free agency is never not interesting. In the end, though, this was merely delaying the inevitable.
Minutes after Haynes reported was headed to the Boston Celtics, Hayward’s agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPN that he was still processing his decision.
“Gordon hasn’t made a decision yet. We are still working through it,” Bartelstein told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Minutes later, Bartelstein told The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach this: “That was the goal, but now we’ve got to kind of regroup here a bit”
Minutes prior, Wojnarowski reported that the Utah Jazz hadn’t heard from Hayward’s camp regarding what decision he would make. It’s possible that’s a factor here, since it is generally seen as disrespectful for players to let teams learn through Twitter and social media that they will be leaving, rather than calling them directly to inform them of the news. Several reporters tweeted this theory in the moments following the stunning reversal.
If this is the case, then sadly Jazz fans will get screwed over twice, once with the initial news and again when it’s confirmed. That remains the most likely outcome.
Still, minutes after we thought Hayward was headed to the Celtics — after multiple signs pointed to that being his decision — we are once again not sure what’s actually happening. And it has left everyone on Twitter open for jokes. Even Hassan Whiteside, star player for the Miami Heat, the third team that met with Hayward during this free agency period.
Unless he knows something we don’t ...
