Celtics say their goodbyes as they travel to Disney for ’19-20 restart

The Boston Celtics packed their bags and said their goodbyes as they traveled to the NBA’s Disney campus for the 2019-20 season restart.

The Boston Celtics said their goodbyes to family and friends Wednesday afternoon as they departed for points south, headed to the Disney NBA campus at Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

The team travelled to the Orlando-area 2019-20 season restart location hosted at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex where the team will remain until at least the end of the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

And while families will be able to join players after the first round of the postseason, the stay could last as long as until mid-October if the team were to make the Finals.

Veteran forward Gordon Hayward and center Vincent Poirier will leave the NBA campus briefly for the birth of their respective children in September, but even that is nearly two months distant.

Hayward’s wife, Robynne, related on Instagram that even with that planned reunion coming, the departure was still tough.

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Lots and lots of tears today. We knew NBA means lots of travel, but not for months at a time. We’re so grateful for the time we’ve had together but in a way that makes it harder especially for the girls. They’ve got to do so many things together throughout this time which has been so neat to watch. They are so in love with their dad he’s the ultimate playmate and tends to break my “rules” haha so he’s obviously the fun parent. He stays with them until they fall asleep at night every night, so lots of changes happening. Next time we see Gordon we’ll have our baby boy! We miss you so much and are almost done crying, but we love you and we’re so excited to watch you play! 💕

A post shared by Robyn Hayward (@robynmhayward) on

“Lots and lots of tears today,” she said.

“We knew NBA means lots of travel, but not for months at a time. We’re so grateful for the time we’ve had together, but in a way, that makes it harder, especially for the girls. They’ve got to do so many things together, but in a way that makes it harder especially for the girls.”

All-Star swingman Jayson Tatum had to say goodbye to his son Deuce as well — the trip to be the longest he’s been apart from his 2-year-old in his life.

Also a dad, reserve guard Brad Wanamaker showed off a pillow with his kids on it as he boarded the team plane.

While his family is just a short drive away in Orlando, he won’t be able to see them in person before the second round of the playoffs due to NBA protocol.

Poirier could be seen bringing the essentials on the plane — namely, a monitor to play his games on when the team has downtime.

All in all, even for the players like Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart who have no children, the extended separation from loved ones will be tough.

But the team appears to be united in their desire to compete for an NBA championship in the sunshine state, even if the decision was a tough call for many.

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