By virtue of Blake Griffin’s quick decision , Chris Paul’s trade and no drama with the Golden State Warriors , we the people of the NBA world have ended up with Gordon Hayward as The One True Free Agent.

The bizarre twists of NBA free agency always seem to coil around a single player’s decision, specifically an All-Star with options who seems legitimately likely to leave his last team.

The beauty of Hayward’s role in all this is that you can bet half of those Celtics and Miami Heat fans didn’t even realize the guy had become this good a year ago.

Hayward’s ascension came with little fanfare until it became clear that he would be a big-time mover on the free agency market, one previously expected to be dominated by the Clippers’ Griffin and Paul.

Wiping mustard off our fingertips as we await push alerts from our most trusted NBA reporters.