Gordon Hayward Empathizes with Jusuf Nurkic

Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, who suffered his own infamously gruesome leg injury at the start of the 2017-18 season, shared some sympathy with Jusuf Nurkic and the Trail Blazers when speaking with reporters recently (via NBC Sports Boston):

“I just saw it this morning. I feel so bad for the guy,” Hayward told reporters in Cleveland ahead of Boston’s game against the Cavaliers that night, via The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “I mean, he was having a tremendous year. I feel bad for the Blazers, too.”

Hayward also had some encouragement for Nurkic:

“It is what it is. Hopefully I can be some inspiration for some people that you can come back and it takes a lot of work,” Hayward said. ”But it’s definitely possible, and we’re blessed modern technology and all that they can do to help us get better.”

And even tried some Bosnian in a get-well tweet he sent: