If it hadn’t been for his agent’s advice, Gordon Hayward would have been a Miami Heat after the summer of 2017.
The recently retired All-Star told The Dan Le Batard Show that he was ready to sign with the Heat after his meeting with Pat Riley and Co., but his agent, Mark Bartelstein, insisted that he complete the other meetings on his schedule, including one with the Boston Celtics.
“I remember vividly telling my agent after each meeting, like I started with Miami, and I’m like, ‘I want to go to Miami. We don’t even need to do the other meetings.’ Miami is the place I want to be, and he kind of was like, ‘Well, we got to hear everyone out,’” Hayward said. “The Heat have always been a first-class organization, so I was really, really close to signing there. I feel like Spo is one of the best coaches in the league, and obviously, Pat Riley is legendary in his own right.
“I was very close. Also, my brother-in-law lives in Miami. My wife would have loved living there and the beach and everything. But, ultimately decided to go to Boston.”
Hayward has cited his relationship with then-Celtics coach Brad Stevens as the biggest factor in his decision to sign with Boston. Stevens, now the Celtics president of basketball operations, coached Hayward in college at Butler.
It’s fair to wonder what would have happened if Hayward signed in Miami instead of Boston. Would he have suffered a career-changing injury in his first game of the 2017-18 season? Could he have partnered with Goran Dragic and rookie Bam Adebayo to help the Heat finish higher than sixth in the East? Would that team have pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers and other top teams in the conference?
Obviously, we’ll never know. But Hayward's decision against the Heat was the first of many All-Stars to rebuff the Heat in the following years.