This offseason there has been a huge shift in talent in NBA from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference.
However, All-Star forward Gordon Hayward was one of the lone talents to head East by electing to leave the Utah Jazz in free agency for the Boston Celtics on a four-year, $128 million deal. This has immediately built the perception around Hayward that he partly made the decision due to the decreased amount of competition in the conference.
During a recent interview with Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Hayward quickly dispelled that notion, but also acknowledged that it was something that crossed his mind.
“When we're going through this process and you keep seeing some of the big-name guys and it's like, the West is loading up more and more and more, it's not something where, like, I'm going to go East just so I don't have to play them, 'cause you don't want to run from competition at all. That's not how I am. But there is a sense that it's probably a smarter thing as far as you're not going to have to battle it out with all these teams just to make it to the second round, make it to the third round, giving yourself a better chance against a Golden State. So it definitely crosses your mind, 100 percent.
“You look at the division the Jazz are in, and that is a tough division. Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Portland, Denver. Like that's going to be a really tough division and you're playing those teams four times a year. The All-Star thing is going to be hard no matter what division you're in, but certainly with the amount of stars that are in the Western Conference now, especially at the forward position, too. It's loaded, and you better have a really good first half of the season if you want to get in [to the All-Star Game]. A lot of that to me always comes down to how your team does. If your team is winning, then it's going to be a lot easier for you. Like I said, that for sure crosses your mind.”
There is no denying the fact that the Western Conference has only gotten stronger this offseason with the likes of Paul George heading to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Paul Millsap to the Denver Nuggets.
Meanwhile, the addition of Hayward to the Celtics has the potential to make them the clear-cut challenger to finally dethrone the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference. Boston now possesses three All-Star caliber players that head their roster while the Cavaliers could take a significant hit with the possible departure of Kyrie Irving.
Nonetheless, the Celtics were the one destination among the three choices that presented Hayward the best chance to win moving forward.
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