Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair a dislocated left ankle and a fractured tibia suffered in gruesome fashion just over five minutes into the NBA season opener on Tuesday night in Cleveland.
And it appears Hayward’s season is over.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted late on Wednesday night that Hayward is likely done for the 2017-18 campaign, according to Hayward’s agent, Mark Bartelstein.
After surgery tonight, Boston's Gordon Hayward is unlikely to return this season, agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 19, 2017
Hayward is at least expected to make a full recovery, according to Bartelstein.
Bartelstein tells ESPN on Hayward: "We expect him to make a full recovery and return to his All-Star form."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 19, 2017
But the news that the injury is season-ending really, really sucks (even if it’s hardly surprising after how awful the injury looked).
Hayward — one of the most underappreciated players in the NBA over the last several years with the Utah Jazz — signed a four-year, $128 million deal with the Celtics over the offseason, and was viewed as the potential missing piece to help the Celtics get past LeBron James and the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals.
And just five minutes into the NBA season, Hayward’s first season with the Celtics is already over. Just awful. Hopefully he’ll make a full recovery and he’ll still be just 28 years old when the 2018-19 season comes around.
As for the 2017-18 Celtics, they still have the talent and depth to be legitimate title contenders, but losing a sharpshooting 6’8″ All-Star that can efficiently pour in 20 points a night and help space the floor is obviously a huge blow to Boston’s championship hopes. It’s a star’s league, especially when talking about trying to beat the Cavs or Warriors deep into the playoffs. The Celtics’ championship odds dropped from 10-to-1 to 20-to-1 in Vegas shortly after Hayward suffered the injury.
However, there’s plenty of young talent and upside on this Celtics team, with Jaylen Brown (20; 3rd overall pick in 2016) and Jayson Tatum (3rd overall pick in 2017) two players whose roles could especially grow with Hayward out (and both players have already been very productive in Boston’s first two games).
The Celtics played a video message of Hayward from his hospital bed during player introductions at the team’s home opener on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
