Celtics confirm Hayward will wear No. 20, Allen's old number

With the Boston Celtics officially welcoming Gordon Hayward into the fold Friday, hoop heads were able to mine a bit of controversy from a relatively superficial decision: Hayward's jersey number.

Hayward's worn No. 20 since coming into the league with the Utah Jazz in 2010, and donned it before that as a two-year player at Butler. The issue is that Boston's No. 20 jersey previously belonged to likely Hall of Famer Ray Allen.

Allen was a key cog in the Celtics' title-winning squad nine years ago, but his relationship with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo soured when he signed with the archrival Miami Heat in the 2012 offseason.

Former Celtics coach Doc Rivers recently expressed his hope that Allen and the team's other stars would reconcile in time for the 10th anniversary of the 2008 championship.

Allen - while an all-timer based on his overall body of work with stops in Milwaukee, Seattle, Boston, and Miami - averaged 16.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in his five-year stint with the Celtics. Solid stats to be sure, but hardly history-altering for a franchise that's won 17 championships since 1957.

If the Celtics retired the jersey of every All-Star who brought a ring back to Beantown, they wouldn't have any numbers left.