Brad Stevens on Gordon Hayward: 'He's not playing this year'

HOUSTON -- The day after The Players' Tribune posted a video highlighting Gordon Hayward's rehab from a fractured ankle, Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens offered his most definitive comments of the year by saying that Hayward will not play again during the 2017-18 season.

"He's not playing this year. I don't know what else to say," said Stevens, who has fielded an increased amount of questions about Hayward's progress in recent weeks.

On Friday, Hayward tweeted the Players' Tribune video with a caption, "Patience. One goal," and hinted that more details were coming about his rehab. The sight of Hayward getting a tiny bit of lift on his jump shot during workouts filmed on the west coast in…