The question of a possible Gordon Hayward return keeps coming up in Boston, but Brad Stevens’s answers are getting firmer and firmer.
After the Players’ Tribune posted a video of Hayward getting a bit of lift on his jump shots, Stevens faced more questions about a possible return before the end of the season. He responded, however, with a firmer answer — Hayward isn’t even close to returning.
“He’s not playing this year. I don’t know what else to say,” Stevens said, via ESPN’s Chris Forsberg.
Stevens said he had no problem with videos of Hayward rehabbing, but noted that they don’t necessarily paint a complete picture of where the forward is at physically.
“I think the videos are great, too. Because, like, it continues to show the progress,” Stevens said. “Sometimes when you’re in the midst of that long rehab, you don’t feel the progress of the day-to-day the way now we all might see a video or somebody that hasn’t seen him may seen a video and say, ‘Man, he really is getting better.’ But he’s a super long way away from even being on 1-on-0 workout where he’s cutting.”
Stevens has been taking the same position from the start, and it doesn’t sound like the answer to the question is going to change before the season ends.
