Gordon Hayward Traveling with Celtics Discussed by Brad Stevens

While Boston Celtics star Gordon Hayward remains unlikely to return to the court this season, he may be able to travel with his teammates in March depending on how his work on an antigravity treadmill progresses.

"It doesn't look like it's any time in the next couple of weeks," head coach Brad Stevens said, per Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. "We talked the other day. He's gonna do another AlterG process or progress starting on Sunday where he goes from 60 percent of his body weight all the way to 100, and then once he gets to 100—once he can do stuff where he's running or jumping—then it makes sense to bring him on the road."

Hayward, 27, has been out of action since the Celtics' first game this season, during which he suffered a gruesome injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers, dislocating his left ankle and fracturing his left tibia.

Boston signed Hayward in the offseason in a move that, paired with its trade for Kyrie Irving and draft selection of Jayson Tatum, was expected to make the Celtics a title contender. Hayward was coming off his best season, having posted 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from beyond the arc.

The Celtics have been very good without Hayward, notching a 42-19 record and standing second place in the Eastern Conference. Some fans have been holding out hope that Hayward will return to action this season, though that remains improbable at best.

"We'll bring him on the road when he can do stuff on the road, but that's for his own benefit, to get back into the gyms, to get back into this routine, to cheer on his teammates and everything else," Stevens said Saturday, per Jay King of MassLive.com. "But as long as he can get more accomplished at our facility or with our trainers, when we sent him or left him in Southern California, then that's going to be the priority. But we have no expectation of Gordon being back this season."