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Today in Boston Celtics history, In 2017, the team successfully traded for All-Star forward Gordon Hayward following his announcement in The Player's Tribune regarding his decision to depart from the Utah Jazz and join the Celtics.
Earlier that day, his agent had refuted reports from ESPN NBA insider Chris Haynes suggesting that the unrestricted free agent would be signing with Boston.
However, the former Butler player chose to pursue a largely unsuccessful reunion with his college coach, Brad Stevens, who was hired by the Celtics in the same role in 2013.
"There were so many great things pulling me in that direction," Hayward explained.
"There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city from the (Red) Sox to the (New England) Pats to the (Boston) Bruins.
"There was the special history of the Celtics, as a franchise from (Bill) Russell to (Larry) Bird, to (Paul) Pierce, and it goes on," he added.
"And of course, there was coach Stevens: Not just for the relationship that weve built off the court but also for the one that we started building on the court, all of those years ago, in Indiana." Birthdays It is also the birthday of former Celtic wing Adrian Griffin, born this day in 1974 in Wichita, Kansas.
After playing in college at Seton Hall, he went undrafted in 1996.
He eventually signed with Boston as a free agent in 1999.
He played two seasons with the Celtics, averaging 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists with the team.
Ex-Boston guard and forward Al Lucas was born on this date in 1922.
A graduate of Fordham, the 6-foot-3 wing played just two games for the Celtics in the 1948-49 season, putting up 1 point per game in his very short stint with the team.
Gone too soon Finally, it is also the day we lost forward Gene Conley in 2017.
One of a handful of people to win a title in Major League Baseball as well as the NBA, Conley also played for the Boston Red Sox, Boston (then Milwaukee) Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies in MBL.
He also played for the New York Knicks and the Hartford Capitals of the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Washington Tapers of the American Basketball League as well as the Celtics.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Hayward agrees to sign; Griffin, Lucas born; Conley passes.