I wonder if JT/JB still are friends at all with Hayward? random thought I know...
Were they very close?: Not suggesting they didn't get along but sometimes a co-worker is just that and nothing more.
I dunno for sure that they ever were friends, so good point. Just thinking out loud. Could be the opposite, and they didn't get along at all? Just asking in relation to seeing JT/JB's hugs with Marcus the last game. Different situation I know.
The only person I ever heard was close with Hayward (outside of Stevens obviously) was Daniel Theis. Hayward being more of an older vet compared to Brown and Tatum, I wouldn't assume that they were all best buds. Also, Hayward spent his first year with the Celts rehabbing his injury and then two tough years attempting to regain his form at the same time Brown and Tatum were trying to establish themselves. I remember one of the tidbits that came out of reporting from that time was that some teammates felt Stevens favored Hayward too much those two years.
Anyway, I think they're all friendly with each other but not close or anything like that. That's pretty normal for the NBA, though.