Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Celtic signee Gordon Hayward says he came close to signing with Heat.
MIAMI — Hindsight offers no consolation. Gordon Hayward has moved on to the Boston Celtics. But the former Utah Jazz freeagent forward said his visit with the Miami Heat left an indelible impression, that the brand Pat Riley has cultivated in South Florida still resonates.
In an interview with ESPN personality Adrian Wojnarowski on “The Woj Pod,” Hayward said he left his July 1 meeting with Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra and the team’s staff telling his wife, Robyn, and agent Mark Bartelstein that he well may have found his NBA home.
“I think the text that I sent to Mark was, ‘Wow, that’s going to be really tough to beat,’ or something like that,” Hayward said. “I asked Robyn and she said something like she could see herself living there, that would be a really great place for us to be.”
The session included Riley stressing the Heat’s legacy of three championships over the past 11 seasons.
“After the video, he kind of talked a little bit,” Hayward said. “And that was the moment where you kind of do get some chills. And everyone’s wearing their ring, too, everybody on the staff was. And so that’s the moment where you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s really cool,’ an I-want-to-put-on-the-jersey-right-now type feeling.”
Four days later, after meetings with the Celtics and Jazz, Hayward announced he would sign with Boston.
In the wake of that agreement, Hayward stressed the difficulties in making his decision. In fact, he said on the podcast that the Heat continually ranked highly on his metrics in advance of his interview tour.
“Miami was the spot that the more and more we talked about it, the more and more it looked like this would be a really, really good fit for me,” he said of his discussions with Bartelstein in advance of free agency. “And we actually broke it down and had like a point system of different pros and cons and on a weighted scale of different things that each city would represent and each team would represent, and Miami was always near the top of the rankings when we did it.”
Hayward explained that he paid for his own private transportation to South Florida on June 30, since it was outside of the freeagency recruiting window, in order to be ready for his morning meeting on July 1 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The meeting included introductions to Riley and Riley’s wife, Chris, as well as Heat CEO Nick Arison and his wife, Jenna, along with the Heat front-office and coaching staff.
“Immediately, you’re hit with this family vibe that they have,” Hayward said.
There then was a 45-minute meeting with Spoelstra.
“It was something where I went into it curious and intrigued just to talk to him and see his philosophies and his thoughts,” Hayward said. “I definitely was not disappointed in the meeting that I had.”
As for his time with Riley, Hayward said he had the anticipated reaction, even if not ultimately offering the response Riley had sought.
“Mark had tried to tell me, after you talk with him, you’re going to be like, ‘Mark, I’m ready to sign right now.’ You do get that vibe from him. He’s a great motivator,” Hayward said. “And we watched some videos, too, of the Heat and their tradition. He definitely makes you feel like you’re going to be competing for championships year in and year out.”
In the wake of losing out on Hayward, the Heat immediately pivoted back to re-sign James Johnson and Dion Waiters, as well as adding Celtics free-agent forward Kelly Olynyk, utilizing the salary-cap space that would have, in large part, otherwise gone to Hayward.