The Jazz have been charged with the task of growing and developing their way into the postseason all over again, Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. All things considered, they’re off to a decent start.
The scribe offers up a scathing critique of how Gordon Hayward handled his exit from Utah, suggesting that Hayward left the team out in the cold, unlike ex-Pacers star Paul George, who at least gave Indiana’s front office a clear heads up that he had an interest in leaving.
While Monson sheds light on a handful of the assets on board in Utah, from trade candidate Derrick Favors to underwhelming fourth-year forward Rodney Hood, he also places some blame on general manager Dennis Lindsey for not having a better read on the Hayward situation prior to last offseason.
Of course the best thing going for the Jazz is their core duo of Rudy Gobert and rookie Donovan Mitchell. Everything will revolve around those two players, Monson says — that’s a particularly intriguing thought for Utah, considering that Gobert is just 25 years old while Mitchell is 21.
There’s more from the Jazz today:
- As the trade deadline draws closer, Derrick Favors is hearing his name pop up in more and more speculation. The 26-year-old has managed to successfully tune out the conversation thus far, Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News writes.
- In the same feature for The Deseret News, Woodyard reports that forward Thabo Sefolosha‘s knee surgery went successfully on Wednesday.
- After being cleared for non-contact basketball activities, Jazz guard Dante Exum has set his sights on returning to action after the All-Star Break, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. Exum damaged ligaments in his shoulder during preseason.
I mean everyone knew that Hayward had interest in playing for Brad Stevens again, so unless Utah managed to convince Boston to trade Stevens, it doesn’t take a detective to figure out that Hayward might have interest in leaving. Even if Hayward told the Utah front office that he was definitely leaving at the end of the year before the trade deadline (a decision he might not have even made until the season was over), it’s not like they would be able to scrape together much in a trade, especially if word got out that Hayward had an idea of where he planned to go. That type of sentiment is exactly why there is no loyalty from players anymore. I know that a journalist or beat writer’s opinion hardly matters, but fans seem to expect unwavering loyalty from players but wouldn’t show the same loyalty if the players start to struggle.
The bad part is Hayward told them he wanted to play with Ricky Rubio, so they went out and traded a first round pick for him. The bad part with the announcement was ESPN and everyone announced it. The Jazz denied it. Then later in the afternoon, hayward finally came out and announced it. Bad picture!
In reality, Jazz needed a PG anyway. And they gave up OKC’s 1st in 2018, not expected to be a great value, mid 20s for 2 years of Rubio. Whether Hayward left or not, they still needed a main ball handler. Exum hasn’t even played this year and looks like a bust anyway.