Boston Celtics small forward Gordon Hayward says “the reins are off” him now.

In his latest blog post, Hayward reveals Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was cautious with him last year since he was making his return from that devastating ankle injury he suffered.

After a full summer of healthy workouts, Hayward is ready to regain his All-Star form with the Celtics.

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Personally, I want to build on the year that I had last year and the way I ended the year and improve on that. I expect to have more responsibility as well. We’re an extremely young team and I’m one of the vets here. So off the court and on, I think more will be expected of me.

On the court, I think that’s something that Coach Stevens was cautious about with me last year. He wanted to ease me into everything and make sure that I was healthy. Now, the reins are off.

I’m ready to be the player I came here to be.

That’s my focus. That and raising a banner at the Garden.

Gordon Hayward decided to stay in Boston so he could be with the Celtics’ coaching and training staff this summer. The swingman will be two years removed from the injury this upcoming season, so all signs point toward Hayward being more explosive and comfortable on the court.

Hayward averaged 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 2018-19 while shooting 46.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and 83.4 percent from the free-throw line.