After Gordon Hayward signed with the Boston Celtics, coach Brad Stevens was quick to let him know that his football opinions wouldn't fly in New England.

A video involving Hayward made waves this summer in which Hayward said he "can't stand" New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Appearing on WEEI on Wednesday, Stevens said (mostly kidding (but only kind of)) he had discussed the issue with his new star.

"I gave him that advice," Stevens said. "I passed that along. First of all, I think that clip was a few years old, so I have to let him have that at least. But I made sure that he knew, 'By the time you get here, i give you about four weeks before you're a huge Tom Brady fan.' Obviously, I've been here four years, coming from Indianapolis, there's a certain Peyton Manning lean from back in the day. Obviously when you're here and you're around the Patriots, and around Tom and really around that whole organization, it's so impressive. Actually, as Gordon made his decision and moved forward, I sent them both a little text jabbing Gordon. Tom's been nice enough to give his advice regardless. Tom has been great about it."

It's worth noting that the video is not "a few years old" -- it came out in January.

Still, Stevens would know about the Patriots. Earlier in the interview, he talked about being around the team and how impressive the organization is. The Celtics and the Patriots have supported one another frequently -- during the Celtics' run to the Eastern Conference Finals, multiple Patriots were spotted in the stands, including Julian Edelman, LeGarrette Blount (almost on a daily basis), Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft. The Jumbotron was always careful to show everyone it could find.

Stevens, of course, will be happy to give Hayward minutes no matter his NFL affiliations.

"One of the things about the NBA right now is if you can play multiple positions, if you can defend multiple positions, if you can handle the ball, pass and shoot it with size and length, you're going to be hard to take off the court," Stevens said. "(Hayward) has just continuously gotten better. One thing he's always been able to do is impact winning on both ends. We think regardless of who he's playing next to, regardless of what position you put him at, he's going to be able to have a positive impact."

Stevens compared Hayward to Al Horford, another player who makes everyone around him better.

"In the playoffs, (Horford) played his very best basketball," Stevens said. "You hope Gordon can have a similar experience."

Celtics fans are certainly thrilled to have Hayward on board. If it makes the Patriots faithful feel any better, Hayward thought Brady was very good, even back in January.

"I'm a Colts fan, so he's just ... I can't stand him just because he plays for the Patriots," Hayward said, smiling. "I think he's a good quarterback, I just ..."

Hayward trailed off.

"Loyalty?" Jazz reporter Hayley Byrnes asked.

"Loyalty," Hayward said, nodding.

We'll leave the irony of that particular exchange alone.