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After three meetings in three cities with three different teams, Gordon Hayward has made up his mind. The 27-year-old forward will sign with the Boston Celtics, he announced on The Players Tribune.

Hayward will sign a four-year, $128 million deal, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Shams Charania. The fourth year is a player option.

“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward wrote in his article. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the Sox, to the Pats, to the Bruins. There was the special history of the Celtics, as a franchise — from Russell, to Bird, to Pierce, and it goes on. There was the amazing potential of this current Celtics roster, as a team — from ownership, to the front office, to a talented roster with Isaiah, and Al, and everyone else. And of course, there was Coach Stevens: Not just for the relationship that we’ve built off the court — but also for the one that we started building on the court, all of those years ago, in Indiana.

And that unfinished business we had together, back in 2010, when I left Butler for the NBA … as far as I’m concerned, all of these years later, we still have it.”

The news was initially reported by ESPN’s Chris Haynes on Tuesday afternoon, but was disputed by Hayward’s agent. Ultimately, though, that was merely delaying the inevitable.

With the Celtics, Hayward is teaming back up with head coach Brad Stevens, who led Butler to a national championship appearance in 2010 with Hayward as his star player.

Hayward has been in Boston’s plans for at least a year, and their rebuilding process has stretched out longer than that. With Hayward, the Celtics have another player they can build around, but they also still have numerous draft picks and young players that could facilitate a major trade. For example, what if Anthony Davis came on the market soon after a failed Pelicansexperiment?

Hayward’s game has grown each year, with his scoring average increasing in all seven of his NBA seasons. In Utah last season, Hayward was the featured man, averaging 21.9 points and 3.5 assists on a 59.5 percent true shooting mark. Along with new co-star Isaiah Thomas, Hayward and the Celtics are now prepared for another season spent gunning for the No. 1 seed and hopes for a deep playoff run, opportunities that had not been presented to him in Utah.

Gordon Hayward ships up to Boston

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

More SB Nation coverage of Hayward deciding to sign with the Boston Celtics.

WINFIELD: Gordon Hayward can lead Boston past Cleveland ... eventually

CATO: Hayward’s departure ruins a Jazz plan six years in the making

CELTICS BLOG: Boston finally lands its top target

SLC DUNK: Making sense of an angry, confusing day

What does Hayward bring to the Celtics?

Hayward has improved every year he has been in the league, improving his scoring average each of his seven seasons. In 2017, Hayward truly broke out as a top option, making his first All-Star team. When you consider Utah had the slowest pace in the league, Hayward’s 21.9 points per game are even more impressive than they seem. That, combined with how efficient he was, proves that Hayward could have remained a No. 1 option if he needed.

But now he’s next to Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford, and Hayward won’t need to always carry the load himself. That’s great! Hayward is a modern, excellent off-the-ball player both on the catch-and-shoot and slasher roles he filled admirably early in his career. There will still be plenty of shots available for Hayward, especially when Thomas is off the floor.

But if his scoring average dips even slightly, Hayward can take solace in the fact that Boston should roll through an Eastern Conference that has only one real threat to them — Cleveland.

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