“When do we get Gordon Hayward back?” It’s the Celtics fans’ version of kids in the back seat saying “are we there yet?” That sentiment got fuel when Hayward posted this video of himself recently dribbling and taking stationary jumpers (with a little lift).
Patience. One goal.
— Gordon Hayward (@gordonhayward) March 2, 2018
More to come ➡️ @PlayersTribune pic.twitter.com/buD5E0oDjy
So, “when do they get Gordon Hayward back?”
Next season, Boston coach Brad Stevens said without hesitation Saturday at shootaround before the Celtics take on Houston.
The #Celtics Brad Stevens reiterated that Gordon Hayward WILL NOT return this season. Stevens said Hayward is progressing but is a “super-long “ ways away from doing 1-on-zero work, and being able to cut.
— A. Sherrod Blakely (@ASherrodblakely) March 3, 2018
Brad Stevens was basically as definitive as he’s been regarding Hayward. “He’s not playing this year.”
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) March 3, 2018
Stevens is trying to squash this topic so he’s not asked about it daily near the end of the season. It’s basically what Stevens and the Celtics have said, just less definitively, all season. It also follows with logic and the way the Celtics have approached team from the start: Build this team to be a long-term contender in the East as the LeBron James era fades, think long-term not short. They were never going to put any pressure on Hayward to return this season, rather the opposite. And with the reports that All-Star weekend Hayward’s ankle was still a little swollen and purple suggest he’s not back this season.
I’d like to think that will end the questions on this topic. But knowing that Celtics’ fans are like my kids in the back seat, I doubt it.