Isaiah Thomas thinks fellow All-Star guard Gordon Hayward can help Boston get past LeBron James and the Cavs in the Eastern Conference.
Isaiah Thomas on Gordon Hayward to ESPN: "The type of player we needed to get to the Finals. I'm excited and can't wait to get to work."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2017
Thomas, as one might imagine, is extremely pumped to join forces with Hayward, who announced Tuesday night that he’s joining the Celtics.
Let's get to it @gordonhayward ☘️⌚️☘️
— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) July 4, 2017
Hayward, 27, reportedly agreed to a four-year, $128 million max deal with the C’s.
Per the AP:
The top remaining free agent in this summer’s class is now off the board, with Hayward announcing Tuesday night with an essay on The Players’ Tribune site that he will sign with the Boston Celtics — coached by [Brad] Stevens — and leave the Utah Jazz after seven seasons.
It was a decision that Hayward said he agonized over, and he said he was impressed by the pitches — albeit unsuccessful ones — that Miami and Utah made for him over the last few days. But his ties to Stevens, and the memories of how close they were to a title, seemed to weigh very heavily on his mind throughout this process.
Butler went to the NCAA championship game in back-to-back seasons under Stevens in 2010 and 2011, losing to Duke and Connecticut. In the 2010 game, Hayward’s desperation shot to win the title from midcourt narrowly missed as time expired and Duke won 61-59.
From there, Hayward went to the NBA. Not long afterward, Stevens followed. And now, they’re together again.
