Celtics win chase for Hayward
Ex-Jazz forward to join old college coach in Boston.
Gordon Hayward and Brad Stevens were a couple inches from winning an NCAA championship together at Butler.
They are now reuniting, to try for an NBA title.
The top remaining free agent in this summer’s class is now off the board, with Hayward announcing Tuesday night with an essay on The Players’ Tribune site that he will sign with the Boston Celtics — coached by Stevens — and leave the Utah Jazz after seven seasons.
“This was a life-changing decision for me and my family, and something we took really seriously,” Hayward wrote. “And from the very start of this process, one thing stood out as important: I knew that I wanted the fans and the organizations to hear my decision directly from me.
“After seven years in Utah, I have decided to join the Boston Celtics.”
A person with knowledge of the negotiations said Hayward agreed to a four-year contract, the last of those years being a player option, with a total value of around $128 million. The deal cannot be signed before the league’s moratorium ends Thursday.
It was a decision that Hayward said he agonized over, and he said he was impressed by the pitches — albeit unsuccessful ones — that Miami and Utah made for him over the last few days. But his ties to Stevens seemed to weigh very heavily on his mind throughout this process.
Hayward leaves a loaded Western Conference to join a Boston team that was the No. 1 seed in last season’s Eastern Conference playoffs. He was finally an AllStar for the first time last season, averaging career bests of 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds.
Kings: Added veteran help to their young roster by agreeing to free-agent contracts with forward Zach Randolph and point guard George Hill.
Randolph left Memphis for a $24 million, two-year deal to reunite with former Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger in Sacramento, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press.
Hill announced on Twitter that he was coming to Sacramento. Yahoo Sports first reported the deal, saying Hill would get $57 million over three years.
Heat: Chris Bosh’s time in Miami is officially over. Weeks after the sides came to a final agreement on how to part ways and more than a year since his last NBA appearance because of blood-clot issues, Bosh was waived.
The move gives Miami access to $25.3 million in salary-cap space for this season. Bosh still gets that salary, plus $26.8 million for next season, and in theory could continue his career — if another team declares him fit to play.
Knicks: Signed former Vanderbilt center Luke Kornet to a two-way contract allowable under the new CBA. The 7-foot-1 Kornet averaged 13.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks last season, earning All-SEC honors.
Mavericks: Signed undrafted free agent Johnathan Motley of Baylor to a two-way contract with their team in the NBA’s G League. Motley skipped his senior season to enter the draft. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 17.3 points and 9.9 rebounds as a junior.