Gordon Hayward's Agent Talks Free-Agent Process Leading Up to Celtics Decision

Gordon Hayward's agent, Mark Bartelstein, told the Deseret News' Jody Genessy on Wednesday both he and his client were "flabbergasted" by reports from various media outlets that Hayward decided to sign with the Boston Celtics before he made things official in a piece for The Players' Tribune Tuesday night. 

"It caused chaos. It was really unfair to Gordon and to us," Bartelstein said. "We are in the middle of going through this when all of a sudden this report came out that he’d made a decision. Obviously, we were flabbergasted this could come out."  

The unfairness Bartlestein speaks of stemmed from his displeasure with a report from ESPN.com's Chris Haynes, which broke at 2:17 p.m. ET Tuesday, that pegged the Celtics as Hayward's destination. 

ESPN.com's Zach Lowe and USA Today's Sam Amick both confirmed that report before Bartelstein walked it back. 

"Gordon hasn't made a decision yet," Bartelstein said at the time, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. "We are still working through it."

Hayward's first-person essay for The Players' Tribune went live at 7:48 p.m. ET, at which point it was confirmed the Celtics had netted the summer's biggest free-agent prize. 

However, Bartelstein told Genessy that the Celtics weren't always the clubhouse leaders and noted that Hayward said his visit with the Miami Heat was "unbelievable" and that the Utah Jazz's "home run" presentation made it hard for the All-Star to break from the franchise that drafted him in 2010. 

Ultimately, though, Hayward opted for the Celtics and a four-year deal that will pay him $128 million, according to The Vertical's Shams Charania. 

"There were so many great things pulling me in that direction," Hayward wrote. "There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city—from the Sox, to the Pats, to the Bruins. There was the special history of the Celtics, as a franchise—from Russell, to Bird, to Pierce, and it goes on."

Now reunited with his college coach, Brad Stevens, Hayward will attempt to fill the Celtics' superstar void on the wing and propel Boston back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.