As ESPN.com's Jackie MacMullan explained Tuesday on Arbella Early Edition, the coaching staff created problems by pushing the former All-Star.
"You hate to pick on Gordon Hayward because he was coming back from injury and he was doing the best he could, but I really think that's where it started," MacMullan said (h/t Michael Deprisco of NBC Sports). "They were force-feeding him on his teammates. Brad [Stevens] knew Gordon well. He wanted to get his confidence back." ....
"He gave the benefit of the doubt over and over to a player that wasn't ready, to a guy who had history with him, and it rankled that locker room, and it bothered that locker room," MacMullan said.