BOSTON (AP) — Mistulang reunion ang pagsasama nina coach Brad Stevens at Gordon Hayward sa Boston Celtics.
“It brought back memories of when I was being recruited in high school by Coach Brad. This time it’s at the next level,” pahayag ni Hayward sa isinagawang media conference nitong Biyernes (Sabado sa Manila). Nakuha ng Boston si Hayward mula sa Utah Jazz, sa pakiusap ni Brad, para sa apat na taong kontrata na nagkakahalaga ng US$128 milyon.
Magkasama ang dalawa sa matagumpay na back-to-back NCAA championship ng Bulldogs.
“It’s really an unbelievable thing to be sitting with a guy in your office when he’s 16 or 17 years old, and to again be sitting with him when he’s 27,” sambit ni Stevens.
Napilitan ang Celtics na paluwagin ang kanilang salary cap para makuha si Hayward. Bunsod nito, ipinamigay nila si guard Avery Bradley sa Detroit at binitiwan ang karapatan kay forward Jordan Mickey.
“It’s been a long 10 days, hasn’t it?” sambit ni Celtics basketball boss Danny Ainge.
Isang ganap na All-Star sa nakalipas na season, naitala ni Hayward ang averaged 21.9 puntos.
“I talked about why this transition was so great for me and my family, and also how hard it was to initially make the transition,” sambit ni Stevens. “I tried to keep it much more focused on the now than our relationship 10 years ago.”
Samantala sa Indianapolis, nakuha ng Indiana Pacers si guard Cory Joseph mula sa Toronto Raptors kapalit sa karapatan sa draft rights kay forward Emir Preldzic.
Tangan ni Joseph, 6-foot-3, ang averaged 9.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.3 assist.
Dalawang taon naglaro si Preldzic sa Turkish League. Nakuha ng Pacers ang draft rights sa kanya noong July 2016 trade sa Dallas Mavericks. Napili siya ng Phoenix sa second round ng 2009 draft.
