Gordon Hayward, Stay or Go
Amidst the Warriors absolutely slaughtering the Jazz, an intriguing story is unfolding. Gordon Hayward, Small Forward for the Utah Jazz is heading into unrestricted free agency. Hayward is averaging 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. He's shooting a scalding 39% from 3 point range, and his game has done nothing but trend upwards.
At 27 years old, Hayward is in his athletic prime. He's surrounded by a talented team of young and old guys. An extremely promising 24 year old Rudy Gobert, a fantastic two way player in George Hill, a talented but injury prone Derrick Favors, and many more solid players. It seems like a no-brainer for Hayward to stay right? Wrong.
Two years ago the Jazz let Hayward walk into restricted free agency. Hayward asked the Jazz for a max contract, and the Jazz waited to see if the market would grant Hayward that max. Indeed it did, with the Charlotte Hornets attempting to sign Hayward for 4 years, 63 million dollars. Utah matched this contract, but it left Hayward bitter thinking, "What if Charlotte never extended me this offer, would Utah have given me the max?"
Well now it's time for Utah to pay the piper. Hayward is on record saying, "I like it here in Utah, but my priority is going somewhere I can compete for a championship".
So that begs the question. Questions actually. Is Hayward saying the Jazz can't compete for a championship? The Jazz have made it to the second round of the playoffs. Nice! They're in the process of getting swept by Golden State. Shitty!
So if Utah is not a championship contender, where could Hayward go? Could he go anywhere in the West and not get swept by the Warriors? I doubt it. Who needs a Small Forward, that's good enough to battle Golden State? The Clippers ain't good enough. Sorry Clips. The Warriors are in your head and you know it. Gordon Hayward is not the answer. San Antonio? Well Kawhi Leonard is the man there. Even if the Spurs could sign him (which theoretically they could) San Antonio would trot out something like, Patty Mills/Tony Parker (if Mills stays, if Parker is healthy), Danny Green, Gordon Hayward, Kawhi Leonard, and LaMarcus Aldridge. While that's a nice team, I don't think it's enough to beat Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green.
Houston Rockets? Patrick Beverly, James Harden, Gordon Hayward, Trevor Ariza, Clint Capela. Talented, but not enough to take down Golden State. The Rockets are close, but their explosive style is their own demise. Shut down James Harden, and you shut down that team. If the Rockets are missing their shots, or not drawing free throws, what are they? They certainly can't rely on their "defensive identity".
So maybe Hayward should head East? The Cavaliers are not an option. They're over the salary cap, they have the best Small Forward the game has ever seen, and Dan Gilbert has begun griping about spending more money on the team. Cleveland is out.
Is anyone a Gordon Hayward away from knocking out the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals? The Boston Celtics? Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Gordon Hayward, Jae Crowder, and Al Horford. There's a chance. Hayward has a positive relationship with head coach Brad Stevens. The only chance Boston has is hoping really hard that Kevin Love, or Kyrie Irving goes down with an injury. LeBron James does not go down with injuries.
Nobody else in the East is close. Sure Toronto but Cleveland has crushed them every year, plus Toronto will have to resign Kyle Lowry, and possibly extend Serge Ibaka. Not enough loonies to go around in Canada.
I think Boston is his only chance. You hope Isaiah, Bradley, Crowder, Hayward, and Horford could reach their collective peaks and knock off an injured Cavs team. The Warriors are too good, too young, too versatile, and even if Curry, Thompson, Durant, or Green were to go down, they'd be like a Resident Evil Zombie, you just can't kill them.
But it's lesser of two evils. The Warriors are in contention for the best team ever, and LeBron James is in contention for the best player ever. Crazily enough, LeBron isn't slowing down either. Maybe Hayward joins the Celtics, inherits a solid market, an awesome white as hell fan base, an organization with excellent management, and a bright future. Or maybe he already has that in Utah. Maybe he wants to be the King of Utah. Maybe he doesn't know what he wants.
