Gordon Hayward says he was close to signing with Miami

Hayward recently recalled a hilarious story from one of those matchups, which included Metta World Peace, then known as Ron Artest, comparing him to a popular pop star. “I remember, and this probably had nothing to do with me being white, but maybe my face and hair and everything, but we were playing the Lakers, I think it was preseason,” Hayward said, via The Dan LeBatard Show. “They had Ron Artest and I watching the game, and he looked at me, then looked back at Kobe, then looked back at me, and he was like, ‘Hey Kobe,’ and he pointed at me and said, ‘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 didn’t have a chance to guard him. I think coach pulled me out, sat me right back down.” -via Clutch Points / August 7, 2024