In the summer of 2017, supporters of the Miami Heat were eager to hear the good news that Gordon Hayward would be joining South Beach. But Hayward would go on to join the Boston Celtics, and the rest is history. During his appearance on “The Dan LeBatard Show,” Hayward discussed the momentous choice and how close he came to choosing the Heat.
It seemed inevitable that Hayward would choose Miami because the city was attempting to influence him by hanging banners of himself wearing a team jersey all over the arena. LeBatard would hear Hayward claim that he “was very close” and that the Heat had initially been his obvious option.
“It was an extremely difficult choice,” Hayward remarked. “I essentially met with three teams: Miami, Boston, and Utah. I started with Miami and went to all three. I still clearly recall telling my agent, “I want to go to Miami,” following every meeting. For example, I mentioned Miami at the beginning. Even holding the additional meetings is not necessary. I want to be in Miami, and he seemed to be saying, “Well, we got to hear everyone out.”
“I was very, very close to signing with the Heat because they have always been a first-class organization,” Hayward added. “In my opinion, Spoelstra is among the league’s top coaches, and it goes without saying that Pat Riley is a famous player. I was practically there. My brother-in-law is a Miami resident as well. My spouse ultimately chose to move to Boston, even though she would have liked to live there and enjoy the beach and everything else.
Gordon Hayward’s reasoning for not selecting the Heat
LeBatard claimed that the Heat were performing at their peak, and that in addition to Pat Riley, other guests at the Hayward interview were Udonis Haslem, Juwan Howard, Alonzo Mourning, and others. The former player for the Jazz, Celtics, and Charlotte Hornets would argue that “reuniting” with Brad Stevens—with whom they both played at Butler—was what ultimately made the difference.
Hayward remarked, “Well, you know, it was getting back together with Brad [Stevens].” “Brad was a guy who really sold it. It’s difficult to compete with someone you played for at Butler who had such a profound influence on my life as a player and a person, so being able to go play for him again was kind of the key thing.”
For fans of the Heat, it will be one of those “what if” situations, particularly because Hayward’s time with the Boston team was overshadowed by his injury in the first game of the 2017–18 season against the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he suffered a fractured tibia and a dislocated ankle in his left leg very early in the game. Nevertheless, Riley put in a heroic effort; according to Hayward, he “did all the moves.”
Indeed, he executed every action. The Heat accomplished nothing, according to Hayward. As previously said, following that meeting, I was prepared to join. Three teams were involved. There would have been three excellent options. To be honest, with any of those groups.
In the present, Hayward has formally declared his intention to retire from basketball following his 14-year NBA career.
Bill Simmons Disapproves of Tweet Combining His Comments From His Anthony Edwards Podcast.
On Tuesday, Bill Simmons released the first episode of the August season of the Bill Simmons Podcast. Rob Mahoney of The Ringer joined Simmons to discuss the men’s basketball semifinals at the Paris Olympics. Later in the podcast, the host, who goes by the name of Anthony Edwards, pondered how long it would take for rumors to surface regarding Edwards’ interest in joining the Miami Heat after his Olympic experience with Erik Spoelstra and Bam Adebayo. The Miami Heat blog Hot Hot Hoops then tweeted about this comment, which was subsequently picked up by the basketball aggregator account @TheDunkCentral. In reaction to the second account, Simmons tweeted, quote, “Having NBA Central recap your pod is like a reading a transcript from a drunk courtroom stenographer.”
Having NBA Central recap your pod is like a reading a transcript from a drunk courtroom stenographer https://t.co/t2VbnoZz1n
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) August 8, 2024
It’s unclear what exactly about the aggregation’s content bothers him. This is the background information.
— Stephen Douglas (@Stephen_Douglas) August 7, 2024
“Next topic,” Simmons declared. “When does the initial You know, Anthony Edwards has a deep affection for Erik Spoelstra and Bam Adebayo. He had a great time interacting with them. Be not shocked—dot dot dot—story drop.” Simmons questioned aloud, “Am I dropping it right now?” as Mahoney began to reply. Other than inserting Simmons’s “dot dot dot” back into the ellipsis that he had sounded out, the aggregate tweet(s) got everything right. To be honest, this quote is difficult to translate. Furthermore, neither is untrue. Was he kidding, one wonders?
Was the seasoned NBA player Simmons just daydreaming about what would be on the hamster wheel in the future? He is undoubtedly competent to recognize it because it is precisely the type of topic he frequently discusses on his podcast. Ever since LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade made the decision to partner up in the NBA after competing together for partner USA, he has enjoyed speculating about who Olympic colleagues will team up next.
Still, why should you be offended if someone writes down exactly what you said? Does it really matter that Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves advanced deeper in the postseason than the Miami Heat did this year? or the fact that he has a five-year contract and appears content in Minnesota? Which is more absurd: implying that he wishes to go immediately, or paraphrasing the precise words of someone who, on one of the world’s most well-known podcasts, really said as much?
The problem is that Bill Simmons’s annoyance with aggregation is not new. He even produced a brief audio piece earlier this year that aimed to promote getting together for enjoyment. Naturally, that occurred after a year or two, and at that point, he began to wonder how long it would take for people to start taking what he said on his podcast more seriously since, in Simmons’ words, “he must actually know something if he just threw that out.” Maybe the wisest course would have been to label this as a hot take. It is understandable how an aggregator could become perplexed and inadvertently record Simmons’ precise words.
