After seven seasons with the Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward signed with the Boston Celtics in free agency. Along with his prior relationship with head coach Brad Stevens at Butler, Isaiah Thomas heavily recruited him to Boston.

With Thomas part of the trade package for Kyrie Irving, it is an awkward situation for Hayward who ultimately signed to play with the two-time All-Star. However, Hayward understands the league is ultimately a business and had praise for Thomas according to Jared Weiss of Celtics Blog:

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Many players reportedly felt bad for Thomas, who did so much for the franchise in 2.5 seasons. After establishing himself as the face of the franchise, Thomas recruited Hayward and Al Horford and led them to the playoffs in each of the three seasons. While there are concerns about his hip following a physical, Thomas will now have an opportunity to play with LeBron James.

As for the Celtics, they believe Irving is capable of being the team's first option. While they gave up numerous assets for the four-time All-Star, it will be interesting to see if the Celtics can dethrone the Cleveland Cavaliers should they meet in the Eastern Conference Finals again. Their first matchup is the 2017-18 season opener on Oct. 17 at Quicken Loans Arena.