Gordon Hayward says he came close to signing with Miami

Recently, Hayward recalled a hilarious story from one of those matchups, including Metta World Peace, then known as Ron Artest, comparing him to a prevalent pop star. “I remember, and this probably didn’t have to do with I was white, but maybe my face and hair and everything, but we played the Lakers, I think it was preseason,” said Hayward, via The Dan LeBatard Show. “They had Ron Artest and I checked in the game, and he like looks at me, then looks back at Kobe, then looks back at me, and he’s like, ‘Hey Kobe,’ and he’s pointing at me and says ‘just throw me the ball in the post, look who’s guarding me, I got Bieber guarding me.’ And sure enough he just posted me up, and this was when Ron Artest was really good, I had no chance of guarding him. I think coach took me out, sat right back down.” -via Clutch Points / August 7, 2024