Ainge Shares His Thoughts On Hayward ’ s Departure, Celtics ’ Plans For Trade Exception

BOSTON (CBS) — Gordon Hayward left the Celtics for a mammoth payday from the Charlotte Hornets. But money wasn’t the only reason Hayward turned his green jersey in for all that green. Celtics president of basketball ops. Danny Ainge discussed Hayward’s departure for the first time Tuesday morning during his chat with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich, and said that the C’s really wanted Hayward back this offseason. But in his talks with Hayward, Ainge said that it was clear that the player wanted something the Celtics couldn’t offer him: A much bigger role on the team. In Charlotte, Hayward will be one of the top scoring options for the Hornets. In Boston, he was No. 4 on the pecking order behind Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker. That’s a big reason why Hayward decided that he wanted to play elsewhere this offseason. “We set out to try to get Gordon to come back. That was our No.1 goal of the offseason; he’s a terrific player,” said Ainge. “I think he preferred to go somewhere else. He made his choice to go to Charlotte. Not sure what else to say about. There was a lot of discussion and hope till the end that he would return. But he preferred to be a more featured player and Charlotte was paying him a lot of money.” Hayward is the third star player to leave the Celtics via free agency in the last two years, with both Kyrie Irving and Al Horford bolting last summer. Kyrie went home and s...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Celtics NBA Sports Syndicated Sports Boston Celtics Danny Ainge Gordon Hayward Sports News Source Type: news