It was the summer of 2017 and Miami Heat fans were awaiting the hopeful news of Gordon Hayward taking his talents to South Beach. However, he would join the Boston Celtics and the rest is history, but Hayward would appear on “The Dan LeBatard Show” where he spoke about the crucial decision and how close he was to picking the Heat.
There was a feeling of certainty that Hayward would pick Miami as even the city was trying to sway the player by even putting up banners around the arena of himself in a team jersey. Hayward would say to LeBatard that he “was very close” and that originally the Heat was his clear choice.
“That was a super tough decision,” Hayward said. “I basically visited three teams, I started with Miami, then did Boston, then finished with Utah, meeting with all those teams. I remember vividly telling my agent after each meeting, like I started with Miami, and I’m like, ‘I want to go to Miami. We don’t even need to do the other meetings.’ Miami is the place I want to be, and he kind of was like, ‘Well, we got to hear everyone out.’”
“The Heat have always been a first-class organization, so I was really, really close to signing there,” Hayward continued. “I feel like Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the league, and obviously, Pat Riley is legendary in his own right. I was very close. Also, my brother-in-law lives in Miami. My wife would have loved living there and the beach and everything, but ultimately decided to go to Boston.”
Gordon Hayward on why he didn't choose the Heat
According to LeBatard, the Heat were in full throttle as for the interview with Hayward, they had people besides Pat Riley like Udonis Haslem, Juwan Howard, Alonzo Mourning, and others attend. However, the former Jazz, Celtics, and Charlotte Hornets star would say it was “reuniting” with Brad Stevens, whom they both played together at Butler, was the deciding factor.
“Well, you know, it was reuniting with with Brad [Stevens],” Hayward said. “Brad was one that sold it, you know, it's hard to compete with, you know, somebody that I played under at Butler and had a huge, huge impact on my life, you know, not just as a player but also a person so, you know, it was that was kind of the key thing was being able to go play for him again.”
It will be one of those “what if” scenarios for Heat fans, especially since Hayward's stint with the Boston was overshadowed by his first contest of the 2017-18 season against the Cleveland Cavaliers where very early on in the game, he would suffer from a fractured tibia and dislocated ankle in the left leg. Still, it's not like it wasn't a valiant effort by Riley as Hayward said he “did all the moves.”
“Yeah, he did all the moves. It was is nothing the Heat did,” Hayward said. “Like I said I was ready to join after that meeting. It was three [teams]. It would have been three great choices. Honestly, with either of those teams.”
Fast forward to the present and Hayward has officially announced he would retire from basketball after playing 14 seasons in the NBA.
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