After three tumultuous seasons, Gordon Hayward has decided to pack up his family and video games and head to Charlotte.
Fair or not, Hayward’s time in Boston will be remembered as “complicated.”
The legacy of Hayward in Boston was sorta written before he played a game, which is a bit unfair.
They say art imitates life, but when the inverse seems to happen, people can’t help themselves. And for right or wrong, expectations that are developed in a fictitious place are then bestowed upon people in real life who fit.
But are these expectations unfair? Probably. Will they stop for others that come along who might remind us of fictional characters or storylines? Probably not.
Hayward and his career arc are a great example of all of this. As we look back, it’s a fair reminder that Hayward may not have lived up to your expectations in Boston, but expectations are a fluid entity that should be treated as such. People change, places change, circumstances change, and expectations should change accordingly.
Hayward and head coach Brad Stevens announced their presence with authority in the 2010 NCAA Tournament and immediately became the living embodiment of the movie Hoosiers. People are simple and the comparisons checked enough boxes.
Hayward playing the Jimmy Chitwood character while Stevens assumed the role of Coach Dale.
(To my knowledge, there was no drunken assistant coach trying to exonerate demos on the 2009-10 Butler coaching staff.)
Unlike the movie, however, the underdog fell short in the championship. Hayward’s desperation half-court heave to beat Duke looked good as it hung in the air for approximately 48 seconds but ultimately slid left.
To be fair, Chitwood had an open elbow jumper off a designed play out of a timeout.
Still, it felt as if we were cheated out of a Hollywood ending like the movies had shown us…time after time. But Butler did not. Life isn’t controlled like art.
Alas, Hayward jumped to the NBA and the story of Hayward and Stevens was put to bed as Hayward embarked on his pro career in Utah and Stevens remained at Butler.
Few seasons later, Stevens would also make the jump to the NBA, taking the head job in Boston.
Immediately people tried to connect the dots of when Hayward and Stevens could potentially reunite. The reunion didn’t seem realistic until 2017 and then Hayward made it official.
From small gyms in Indy to the hallowed parquet of Boston, the two born and bred Hoosiers were taking on the big leagues and the cushy narrative was hard to overlook.
Hoosiers in the NBA
Now with fate and fairy dust on their side, the Hayward and Stevens were destined to at least get to a Finals just as they did with a scrappy squad at Butler. “If they can do that with Matt Howard, imagine what they’ll do with Al Horford!”
And then the Celtics acquired Kyrie Irving a month later and the fairytale became a whole lot more real.
On paper, the Celtics had a roster that resembled Goliath more than David. Kyrie and Hayward to go along with Al Horford and a stable of young guns with Stevens at the helm, hard to deny they looked good.
Then the unthinkable.
In a matter of about 15 minutes, Hayward’s inaugural Celtics season was done, and his career in jeopardy.
Through grit, resiliency and intense rehab workouts – Hayward returned the next season. However, as is the case with these types of injuries – it takes time to get back.
The next (and last) season with Kyrie on the roster was a healing year. A gap year, if you will.
It didn’t exactly help that the Celtics resembled more of a reality show than a basketball team which added just another layer of anguish. By that offseason, Kyrie was out and the Celtics were in a new phase – one built around youth.
In the two years, since Hayward initially suffered the injury the Celtics looked a bit different.
Jayson Tatum established himself as a future superstar and an alpha dog.
Jaylen Brown morphed from an athletic defender to an all-around player eating serious minutes on the wing.
Kemba Walker was brought in to replace Kyrie and could also shoot the lights out.
Hayward now forced to find a role in a roster that was thought to be designed around him back in the summer of 2017 when he signed. At times he was the fourth or fifth option.
The All-Star forward, who at times resembled a Williamsburg bartender, was now in search of a role and additional injuries only hindered his ability to find one.
By this offseason, it was unclear what Hayward would do with his player option, but it became assumed he would opt back in and run it back one more time with his coach.
But, a change of scenery can be good for a person. And we’re all human at the end of the day. Real people are not meant to be bound by fictitious expectations.
Hayward’s time in Boston was unfortunate and unlucky more than anything else.
And so what, it didn’t conclude in the way some thought it would. Sports fans are hopeless romantics searching for narratives and in life, it’s a lot harder to imitate art – which is ok.
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