Gordon Hayward Officially Agrees to 4-Year/$128M Deal with Boston Celtics

Hayward finally becomes a member of Celtic Green!

Earlier today, ESPN’s Chris Haynes prematurely revealed that Gordon Hayward had made his official summer seven free agency decision. Well, his agent soon clarified that his client hadn’t decided on where he wanted to take his talents. Many began to speculate that Hayward would either stay in Utah for a future super-max deal or take his talents down to South Beach.

Tonight, the most sought-out player of this year’s free agency officially announced he was joining the Boston Celtics. In an open article on the Players’ Tribune to the Utah Jazz and their fans, Gordon thanked the city and organization for his seven years in Salt Lake City – but felt he maximized his stay in the north west. He now reunites with Brad Stevens, who coached him during his tenure with the Butler Bulldogs in 2010. Boston’s rich history, championship atmosphere, fans, and Adam Silver The Garden were most of the deciding factors that helped with his final commitment.

The Celtics now look to make cap room space for Hayward, who’s agreed to a 4-year, $128 million contract. So far, Kelly Olynyk has been renounced by the team, becoming an unrestricted free agent in the open market of teams needed a big man. Jae Crowder, who’s also due $22 million over the next three years, will also likely be moved in the coming days to create cap room space.

Take a look at excerpts from Gordon’s exit letter below. Also, let us know in the comments if you think he made the right choice going to Bean Town and if Boston becomes a legit contender.

Thank You, Utah – Gordon Hayward’s open letter on the Players’ Tribute..

After seven years in Utah, I have decided to join the Boston Celtics. I know that will be tough to hear for Jazz fans — and I really want you all to know that you mean the world to me and my family. Over the past few days, I’ve been genuinely torn. And I know that this process isn’t easy on the fans, either. So I just want to be as straight-up as possible about why I’m coming to Boston. There were so many great things pulling me in that direction.

There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the Sox, to the Pats, to the Bruins. There was the special history of the Celtics, as a franchise — from Russell, to Bird, to Pierce. There was the amazing potential of this current Celtics roster, as a team — from ownership, to the front office, to a talented roster with Isaiah, and Al, and everyone else.

And of course, there was Coach Stevens: Not just for the relationship that we’ve built off the court — but also for the one that we started building on the court, all of those years ago, in Indiana. And that unfinished business we had together, back in 2010, when I left Butler for the NBA … as far as I’m concerned, all of these years later, we still have it:

And that’s to win a championship.

Interesting song choice 😳 (via @rudygobert27/Story)

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