Overshadowing what was a phenomenal 2016-17 season for the Utah Jazz was the fact that at the end of the year, Gordon Hayward would be an unrestricted free agent with the very real possibility of leaving Utah for supposed greener pastures. As if that knowledge wasn’t hard enough, while it was incredible to see Hayward develop into a true All-Star, his leap forward in production has made the thought of losing him even more unbearable.
Nevertheless, several NBA experts have commended the Jazz for creating an environment that truly ought to be enticing for Hayward to stay. Not long ago in an interview with 1280 The Zone, NBA analyst and former coach Jeff Van Gundy stated that he believed Hayward would stay put to “see the project through in Utah.