Michael Dwyer/Associated Press After suffering a dislocated ankle and a fractured tibia in his Boston Celtics debut, Gordon Hayward underwent another procedure Wednesday to remove the plate and screws from his previous surgery, the team announced. Hayward is "scheduled to return to basketball activities in six to eight weeks, and is expected to be at full strength for the start of training camp," according to the team. Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports reported Monday that Hayward was progressing in his rehab and was even playing one-on-one. At that time, though, there was still no timetable for him to be back to 100 percent. Hayward signed a max contract with the Celtics last offseason, and after the team acquired Kyrie Irving in an August trade, Boston entered the 2017-18 season with championship aspirations. However, Hayward went down with a gruesome injury only five minutes into the season opener. He would not play again for the rest of the season. Boston went on to reach the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals without Hayward and Irving (knee), even holding series leads of 2-0 and 3-2 over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the end, however, the Celtics didn't have enough firepower to keep James from his eighth consecutive NBA Finals. Video Play Button Videos you might like There was speculation during the season that Hayward might be able to return in time for the playoffs, especially after a video by the Players' Tribune showed his progress: However, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens repeatedly made it clear that he would not rush the All-Star forward back. If Hayward and Irving are healthy entering the 2018-19 season, Boston will be among the favorites to win the East next season.<doc-sep>Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving took part responsibility for teammate Gordon Hayward’s injury and admitted he still feels “sick” about it. Irving and Hayward joined the Celtics prior to the start of the 2017-18 season and were expected to help take the young team to the next level. But the latter’s season ended before it even started after he suffered an ankle injury just five minutes into the first game of the regular season. Hayward was immediately ruled out for the rest of the campaign despite everyone holding out hope for an earlier return. The Celtics did not let the injury get them down, as they had a strong season and finished as the second seeds in the Eastern Conference. Irving played a key role in them having a strong regular season, but the former Cleveland Cavaliers star also suffered injury troubles which saw his season cut short in April. He needed to have a minor knee surgery to remove screws inserted in 2015, which meant he could not play the final few games of the regular season and skip the playoffs. Despite Hayward’s injury being caused by a bad fall during their game against the Cavaliers, Irving has taken part responsibility as it was his pass for the alley-oop. The point guard admitted he was still “sick” over the injury, which was not a pretty sight when it occurred, and more so, due to the rhythm they had built as a team during pre-season training. Photo: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images “I was pissed for our team and, more or less, for Gordon,” Irving said on the Bill Simmons podcast. “He was just now starting to get a rhythm in preseason. It was just tough. “I’m the one that threw the pass for the alley-oop, and I was just like holding on to that for a while. I’ll take part of the responsibility but he wasn’t really open — I saw D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) over there and he just came down wrong, and I was like, ‘Ah, f.'” “I’m still sick about it. Because we had a really good training camp, like a really good training camp,” the Celtics point guard explained. “The pre-season games weren’t even going to be the factor determining how great we were going to be. I knew it from the first day." Irving and Hayward are expected to return in time for the start of the 2018-19 season in October and despite their absence the Celtics had a strong campaign. Brad Stevens’ team were expected to lose in the first round of the playoffs, but beat the Milwaukee Bucks, the highly fancied Philadelphia 76ers and were just one win away from making the NBA Finals against the Cavaliers. However, despite leading the best of seven series 2-0, they could not get over the line in Game 7 against the LeBron James-led Cavaliers.<doc-sep>Gordon Hayward continues his recovery from a horrific leg injury suffered in the first quarter on opening night. The Boston Celtics have released the latest recovery update, the timing of which could be ideal. The latest Gordon Hayward injury update was released yesterday, as the All-Star forward continues his long recovery back to full health. Via the Boston Globe, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens revealed some extremely positive news on his expected timeframe to return. “Everything is good and pointed toward being back exactly where he was — hopefully pain-free, because that plate is taken out — in the middle of July, which probably points to an early August, mid August fully cleared time frame.” A target date of August for full medical clearance would mark a nine-month rehab for Hayward, who lasted less than a quarter before suffering the gut-wrenching injury on opening night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the Celtics right in the thick of trade and free agency rumors, the timing of the Hayward update couldn’t have come at a better time. This is absolutely not to suggest the news was strategically leaked, but from an outsider’s point of view, it could be timely. Via Spotrac, Hayward is owed approximately $64 million over the next two seasons before he will reach a decision on whether or not to exercise his player option for 2020-21. Given he is locked down for two more seasons on his deal, he becomes an attractive prospect on the trade market if the Celtics decide to go down that path. With Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James as potential targets, Hayward’s hefty salary becomes valuable for matching dollar amounts. If Kawhi Leonard does become available in trade talks, the Boston Celtics will be interested in probing the Spurs about a deal, league sources tell ESPN. Boston inquired about a trade prior to the February deadline, sources said. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2018 After missing an entire season, acquiring Hayward may hold some major concerns for rival franchises who might question his ability to get back to full health. The latest news that he is on track to be fully fit for preseason would certainly be a source of some comfort in trade discussions. After a highly publicized exit from Utah, it would seem inconceivable that the Celtics would move on from Hayward without witnessing him strut his stuff on the famous parquet floor. However, Leonard and James are MVP-caliber players, and stranger things have happened. The emergence of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum has allowed the Celtics’ front office to enter the free agency period with endless possibilities, a loaded asset chest rocketing them to the top of all player movement discussions. It should never surprise how quickly we can forget though, after just 12 months out of the game, how great Hayward was in Utah. According to Basketball-Reference, Hayward was one of only 12 players league-wide to average more than 20 points, five rebounds and three assists per game in 2016-17. When you add in the criteria of shooting greater than 38 percent from beyond the arc, that select group is reduced to just two players — Hayward and Paul George. Gordon Hayward isn’t untouchable. No one is (save for maybe Jayson Tatum). But, would be an EXCEPTIONALLY bad look for #Celtics to move him 5 minutes (or 1 year) into his Boston career after pulling him from good situation in Utah. Factor in Brad Stevens relationship. No trade. — Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) June 8, 2018 Hayward is an elite talent, one that devastatingly got taken away from us this past season. But we’ve all been forced to understand that this is a business, and when we are talking about NBA franchises, there is no longer any room for sentiment. If I had to guess, my money would be on Hayward tipping off the season a Celtic. That would be the heartwarming story the NBA world would love to see, but it doesn’t always work that way. At the end of the day, a healthy Hayward returning to play the sport he loves is the goal. With that being said, the timing of this latest update may well intrigue an opposing GM just enough to chase the former Butler Bulldog — Koby Altman and R.C Buford in particular.<doc-sep>
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens gave an update about the return of star forward Gordon Hayward. As reported by Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, Stevens says that Hayward will be fully cleared by mid-August: “All success. Everything is good and pointed toward being back exactly where he was — hopefully pain-free, because that plate is taken out — in the middle of July, which probably points to an early-August, mid-August fully cleared time frame.” To recall, Hayward suffered a fractured tibia and dislocated ankle in last year’s season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, just five minutes into the game. He was subsequently ruled out for the entire season. But from time to time, clips and videos of Hayward surfaced online. It showed that he seems to be doing alright and is on the smooth road to recovery. Stevens, for his part, continuously shut down the rumors and noted that Hayward’s injury will take time to heal. Just a few months ago, Kyrie Irving reflected on the gruesome incident. He pointed out how big of a piece Hayward is to their team. In an article by A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports, Irving said: “Losing Gordon was just, a few more eyes on me that I had to be aware of,” Irving said. “It’s tough because it is an adjustment. Coming into a new environment and you kind of expect this to be the team, and one big piece goes down. You have to figure it out from there.” After a long wait, Hayward will be ready to go. And so is Irving and the rest of the Celtics. Let’s see how the upcoming season plays.