SALT LAKE CITY — The Celtics are comfortable in the belief they made a strong pitch to free agent Gordon Hayward yesterday, but now comes the more difficult part of the process. Waiting.

The 6-foot-8 All-Star wing left Boston on a 5:30 p.m. flight after his session with the C’s, returning to his home near San Diego. He will host the incumbent Jazz today, finishing up a three-city swing that also saw him in Miami on Saturday.

There are reports Hayward plans to make his decision known by tomorrow or Wednesday, but a source close to the player said he could let teams know his decision as early as tonight.

In any case, each hour can seem like a day for the Celts, who have placed their hopes of adding an All-Star in his basket.

Yesterday, a contingent from the club that included team president Danny Ainge, coach Brad Stevens — who, as you are well aware by now, was Hayward’s coach at Butler — Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford, took the prize on a tour that featured a stop in Fenway Park with a video on the center-field board that had David Ortiz and some Celtics past extolling the virtues of playing in Boston.

It was a perfect July day to show off the city, but in that Hayward would be coming to town to work, the lion’s share of time was spent explaining to him how well he would fit with the C’s and how he’d be a critical piece as the club seeks to improve on a 53-win season that included a trip to the conference finals. Attention was given to how well equipped the C’s are to add to the product through draft picks that are expected to be in the lottery and through the development of the young players already on the roster.

While Hayward has a good relationship with Jazz coach Quin Snyder and is said to be enamored of Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, the Celts have to hope his trust and familiarity with Stevens will weigh heavily in the decision.

But even as Miami still stands a very strong chance in this three-team race, the loyalty factor may not be a check mark in the Celtics’ column. There is no question Stevens has maintained a very good relationship with Hayward, occasionally dining with his former player when the Celts and Jazz have met, the player could also lean on the fact he’s spent seven seasons with Utah — five more than he spent playing for Stevens at Butler before leaving after his sophomore year to become the ninth overall pick in the 2010 draft.

If the C’s are to pry Hayward away from Salt Lake City, they could point to the geography and how it impacts today’s NBA. If it’s a path to team success that he seeks, the path is more easily traveled in the Eastern Conference. While the C’s still have a mountain to climb in Cleveland, the West features the defending champion Warriors, the always tough Spurs, a Rockets squad that added Chris Paul and an Oklahoma City club that just brought in Paul George.

The Heat could make the same conference argument, but while the Celts finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed, Miami was a .500 team and just missed out on the playoffs.