Ex- Boston Celtic forward Gordon Hayward penned a goodbye to his former team that he shared via Twitter Saturday afternoon.
The Indiana native turned down the final year of his deal with the Celtics to test free agency, and found a four-year, $120 million deal in wait for him from his new team, the Charlotte Hornets.
There had been some hope among Celtics fans that Boston would be able to recoup something via a sign-and-trade to his hometown Pacers, but the negotiations never seemed to advance very far due to team president Danny Ainge reported asking price of Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner.
To the city of Boston, thank you for embracing me as your own these last 3 years. I cannot say thank you enough to all the fans, my teammates, coaches and everyone in the organization I built such strong relationships with. pic.twitter.com/xsxD05EVKz
— Gordon Hayward (@gordonhayward) November 21, 2020
“To the city of Boston, thank you for embracing me as your own these last 3 years,” began Hayward in the tweet, signalling the end of an era that began with bad injury luck that plagued the Butler product during his time in Boston.
“I cannot say thank you enough to all the fans, my teammates, coaches and everyone in the organization I built such strong relationships with,” he continued. “I know there were some ups and downs, but I will always cherish my experience in Boston.”
“I am forever grateful that I was given the opportunity to wear a Celtics uniform and play in front of the Garden faithful,” he added.
To the city of Charlotte, I can’t wait to start the next chapter in my career! I am ready to play for another incredible organization with the @Hornets. Let’s get it! pic.twitter.com/jpo2HJByaY
— Gordon Hayward (@gordonhayward) November 21, 2020
To the Hornets, he penned another message in the thread.
“To the city of Charlotte, I can’t wait to start the next chapter in my career! I am ready to play for another incredible organization with the Hornets,” wrote Hayward. “Let’s get it!”
And by it, we presume he means the bag — which the Celtics were never going to pay with All-NBA wing Jayson Tatum due for his rookie contract extension.
