Remembering Gordon Hayward in Utah
Traditionally in the USA, the 4th of July is a holiday filled with fun, fireworks, and hot dogs as independence is celebrated.
For the good folks of Utah Jazz nation, the holiday is a reminder of one of the most polarizing players to don the J-note.
The tale goes a little something like this:
2010-2016 was a bleak time in Utah’s history as a team that traditionally finds regular season success, was having none of it.
In those six years, the Jazz had posted a losing record 4 times,
They made the postseason one time, as an 8th seed, a first round sweep to the San Antonio Spurs.
The losing, the coaching, the no longer familiar postseason appearances, nothing seemed familiar for the hometown team’s fanbase.
In these dark times, Jazz fans found a small beacon of hope in Gordon Hayward, a hand picked first round selection by Utah in 2010, (9th overall)
Gordon had been their from the start of this rough patch, and with a Jazz franchise trying to find fresh air, Hayward was the one providing the chest compressions.
Hayward went from a 5.4 PPG rookie to the teams scoring leader by his 4th season.
In year six, Hayward was pacing the Jazz in points scored per game (19.7), steals (1.2), Free throws attempted and made, and minutes played (36.2).
The Jazz were slowly becoming competent again, and the growth of Hayward was the primary driving factor of it at the time.
In year 7 (2016-2017), the patience of fans was finally rewarded. The Jazz were good again.
The team won 51 games, eclipsing 50 for the first time since Jerry Sloan roamed the sidelines in 2009.
This resulted in not only the first playoff berth for Utah in 4 seasons, but the first Jazz playoff series win since, yep, 2009.
Eventually, in 2009 fashion, the Jazz would crash out in the Western Conference semifinals, but the hope was back in Salt Lake City.
Gordon Hayward was behind it all.
The floppy haired youngster had blossomed into a chiseled All-star leading the Jazz into battle.
His stat line, 21.9 PPG, 5.4 TRB, 3.5 Assists, nearly 40 % from deep on 5 tries a night, 47 % from the field and a 53.6 % effective field goal percentage all with under two turnovers a game, demonstrated just how good he had become.
Yet, despite the “return” of the Utah Jazz to relevancy, one eensy teensy problem lingered in the beehive state.
Gordon Hayward’s best season, his All-Star season, happened to come on the eve of his first ever unrestricted free agency period.
Hayward’s college coach, Brad Stevens, was piloting the Boston Celtics and was a major threat to woo Hayward away.
The Celtics had the pedigree and the current success to boot as they were coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
On July 4th, 2017, that major threat proved to be worth the worry.
Hayward created fireworks of his own by spurning the Jazz and signing with the Boston Celtics.
Despite fans getting their hair cut just like him, despite massive billboards displaying “STAYWARD”, despite all of Utah falling back in love with basketball due to his efforts, Hayward left.
But that isn't the worst part, after all it is a business, and Hayward had legitimate reasons to take his talent elsewhere after Utah denied his salary request on a rookie contract extension back in 2014.
Him leaving hurt, but how he left quickly became one of the biggest taboo subjects in Utah sports history.
The deal was done, it was reported on by reliable sources nationally and locally, Hayward was Boston bound, Jazz fans were defeated.
But then, like a bad 4th of July BBQ, things were brought to a smoking halt about ten minutes later when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski stated that the Jazz hadn't heard from Gordon.
David Aldridge told the world that he was told by a source that Hayward “has NOT made a decision yet & is still in the process.”
Hayward’s agent would proceed to tell Wojnarowksi that “Gordon Hasn’t made a decision yet. We are still working through it.”
“Stayward” was still in play. Minutes after being crushed, Jazz fans brought their hopes right back up.
Afterall, then president of the Jazz, Steve Starks, came out and tweeted his trust in Hayward despite the unfolding drama.
The trust was misplaced.
Hayward still left, still signed with Boston and released a Players Tribune article titled “Thank You Utah.”
The whole reason for the delay, the whole reason for Hayward and his camp walking things back, at least per internet speculation was so that they could save face, let the Jazz know, and finish his article.
He broke up with the Jazz twice in one day, and did it in seemingly poor taste both times.
Despite all he had dealt with, and how long he waited for this team to become a threat, he was not obligated to stick around.
And he didn’t.
Jazz fans are accustomed to disappointment, but this scenario felt unique.
It wasn’t a missed shot or a Michael Jordan pushoff, but rather a draft pick you gave it all too, deciding to up and leave when things were better than they had been in almost ten years.
Prior to the days of a Donovan Mitchell, Jazz fans were pretty used to their franchise cornerstone staying such as John Stockton and Karl Malone.
Sure, Deron Williams didn’t last, but he was traded. The Jazz moved on from him, not the other way around.
Role players left Salt Lake all the time, but the next face of the franchise? Practically unheard of at this point.
Fans hadn't felt that yet, and it made them despise Hayward in ways that Jazz fans had never quite demonstrated.
Enes Kanter may have provided a warm up on how to dislike a player, but Hayward was the main course.
Unlike Kanter, Hayward was coming off a year that filled fans with the most hope they had felt in quite some time.
He was a guy that other guys wanted to play with, he was that good in 2016-2017.
A game changer, a coveted piece, a crucial piece for a team that had championship aspirations, gone before Utah could get to experience all he had to offer.
Players with those labels don’t stop and stay in the Wasatch often.
The rest of the story is equally sad, but more so for Hayward himself.
He suffered a fractured ankle in one of the nastiest injury videos you'll see in his first regular season game in a Celtics uniform and was never able to rediscover what made him so special in Utah.
Never an NBA champion, never again an All-Star selection , Hayward stuck around in Boston for a handful of years before ending up in Charlotte.
Despite having good moments in Charlotte, the Hornets were a dumpster fire and he was oft forgotten by the NBA world.
His last hurrah was 26 games and a postseason in Oklahoma City where he averaged 5.3 PPG in 17.2 minutes and struggled to make any type of impact in the playoffs.
Years have passed, boo’s have rained down whenever he’s in town, and fans have since attached themselves to multiple names both past (Gobert, Mitchell) and present (Markkanen) as the face of the franchise.
Today, Gordon Hayward announced his retirement from the NBA at age 34.
As a person you have to feel a bit discouraged for Gordon with the injuries and unmet potential, as a fan you can feel whatever way you want.
Does time truly heal heal all wounds?
Is the past truly in the past?
These are the cliché questions fans will have to ask themselves today of all days, almost 7 years exactly from the day when Hayward broke their hearts.
The answer will be different for everyone, but like Deron Williams before him, I expect the organization and the fans to ultimately come back around to appreciating Hayward for what he was during his stint in SLC.
The greatest basketball of Gordon Hayward’s career was played in the place with the greatest snow on earth and Jazz fans will forever be stuck wondering what could have been had he stuck around, that is if they ever find it in their hearts to forgive him.
More From Sports Radio 97.7
