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Wednesday, July 5, 2017

#Betrayward: Too Big Yo (for his britches)

Believe it or not, his was something I actually said on Facebook a couple days ago -- I repeat, the following status update was not Photoshopped:


I think that Gordon Hayward is a nice guy. I always stood by him during the past seven years, even when he didn't play well or dribbled the ball off his foot in the clutch. I understand it was a "business decision." With that in mind, I am writing this blog purely as an emotional fan. This is not by any means a personal attack on good old G-Time, because I don't believe that he did any of this out of malice, but you know what? I changed my mind about what I said in that Facebook status five days ago. Gordon is leaving the Utah Jazz and going to play in Boston, and I don't think I will ever forgive him.


First and foremost, let me explain something. There are a lot of people out there that might think that the whining I'm about to do is unreasonable, uncalled for and unjustified. These people probably fall into two categories: 1) other sports fans who cheer for big-market teams and have never gone through anything like this or 2) non-sports fans who are still upset that Firefly got cancelled after one season. So, basically, I don't want to hear it from any of them. As someone who has invested so much time, energy and emotion into the Utah Jazz and, in this case, Gordon Hayward's professional career, this (and even the jersey burning that some disgruntled Jazz fans have chosen to do in the past 36 hours) is a totally acceptable part of the grieving process.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way...

The Timeline

  • At the end of last season, Gordon's comments at "locker room clean-out" sounded like the writing on the wall. Never once did he say that he wanted to be here next season. Pretty much everything he said was along the lines of "I have had some good times here." Past tense.
  • The Celtics draft Jayson Tatum, a small forward from Duke, with the #3 pick in the NBA Draft. He plays small forward, the same position as Hayward. Interesting choice.
  • I remember a couple weeks ago seeing a rumor that the Celtics were going to make a push to sign Gordon and trade for Paul George. He was clearly leaving.
  • Then the news broke that Paul George had been traded to Oklahoma City. Hysterical laughing ensued. Boston's ace-in-the-hole was not going to work. He was clearly staying.
  • We traded for Ricky Rubio. We re-signed Joe Ingles. Two things that Gordon supposedly wanted the Jazz to do for him. More reason for me to believe he'd be staying.
  • For some reason, in the last two or three days, I started getting really nervous about it all. I tried to remain cautiously optimistic, but I had a feeling that he would leave us.
  • At around noon Mountain Time yesterday, I saw a tweet saying that Gordon's trainer followed the Celtics on Instagram. Kind of weird, I guess, but I figured that was not a great sign.
  • Within only a few minutes, the news broke that Gordon was going to Boston.
  • Reports began to circulate that the Jazz had not been informed of Gordon's decision. His agent pumped the brakes furiously, claiming that nothing was official yet and that they hadn't told either team about what was happening. It turned into a circus. The only thing missing was Steve Harvey.
  • After delaying the announcement for six hours, it was made official that Gordon was, indeed, going to join the Celtics. Hayward posted a 2,100-word essay about it in The Players' Tribune, a popular forum for such statements.

The Rejection

I tried to prepare myself for the it, but it still cut deep. What hurt the most was that they dragged it out for so long under the guise of "we haven't actually made a decision yet." Come on, dudes. That was a lie. I think Gordon knew what he was going to do month ago. Possibly even years ago. "We haven't made a decision yet" was code for "Gordon needs more time to write his blog." He should have just come out 20 minutes later and been like, "Whoops. Yeah. Sorry, guys. I'm gone," but instead they backpedaled to make it look like he was conflicted. In reality, he got upset that the news leaked before he could post his fluffy little essay and then they played stupid, trying to dupe Jazz fans into thinking that there was a chance that he would stay. Why?? We was never going to stay here. The decision was already made, so the fact that they lied about it to try and candy-coat his exit offended me.

Look at it this way: he broke up with us on the most public of stages and asked for a kiss on the way out.
I never thought I'd say this, but I feel bad for Cleveland Cavaliers fans back when LeBron made The Decision back in 2010. At least Gordon didn't dump us on prime-time TV.

"Unfinished Business"

I never gave much credence to the idea that "Gordon wants to reunite with his old college coach, Brad Stevens." I mean, we all pretty much thought that at some point, when Stevens, who coached Hayward at Butler University, was hired by the Boston Celtics in 2013. It was a cute thought, but I didn't think it would ever be a major deciding factor in where Gordon wound up playing in the NBA. After all, Hayward only played for Stevens for two years, and that was seven years ago. Clearly, I underestimated the bromance. Quoth the Hayward, in his "Thank You, Utah" essay:
"[Leaving Butler University for the NBA] was such a tough decision. But there was one person who I knew I could talk to about it from every angle, who I knew would give me the smartest and most honest perspective available: Coach Stevens. ... And I guess it’s pretty crazy. Because seven years later, I had to make an even tougher decision — and again, Coach Stevens and I found ourselves at a crossroads together. And again, he was the person I knew I could count on the most."
I almost gagged when I read that yesterday. Gosh. Get a room, guys! It will be a precious little reunion, though - they lost a national championship together at Butler, and now they can not win a championship together in Boston. Hooray.

Gordon ended his ghostwritten piece (yeah, he didn't even really write it himself) by saying that he has "unfinished business" with Stevens that he wants to tie up by playing for the Celtics. I've been reading a lot of stuff about this fiasco and here was a quote I liked:
"There have been players who have left Utah. But to be the player who everything hinges on, to have such a successful team, and to leave it? You want to talk about unfinished business? This is unfinished business. This guy talks about wanting to play against the best and he leaves so he can play against an Eastern Conference that is bordering on the G-League." - SLCDunk.com

Remember - You Asked For I.T.

One thing that really bothers me is that the Jazz did absolutely everything they needed to to keep Gordon. We resigned his buddy Joe Ingles, who I love, by the way. We knew George Hill was out of here half way through last season, so we traded for Ricky Rubio, the most notorious "pass-first" point guard in the league. Hayward, Rubio and Rudy Gobert would have been a blast to watch next season. We molded our team around Gordon. He was the number one option and we were bringing guys in that would play well with his style of play.

On the other hand, instead of playing with Rubio, Hayward has elected to go play with that midget Isaiah Thomas, one of the most notorious ballhogs in the league. That is Isaiah Thomas' team, Gordon, and don't you forget it. People talked about going to Boston like it was some kind of no-brainer - that Gordon would fit right into Stevens' system like he was right back at Butler. How do they know? I hope he goes there and sucks. I hope he goes there and hates it. I hope he goes there and loses.

The Jazz are were just as good as Boston was last year; they won two more games than Utah did, and that was playing in the infamously weak Eastern Conference and is not to mention how many injuries the Jazz suffered through last year. If the Jazz could have stayed healthy last year, they could have been a 3-seed in the West or certainly the 1- or 2-seed in the East. To hear people talking about how Gordon needed to leave Utah to "escape mediocrity" is ludicrous. Clearly those fools didn't watch the Jazz play at all last year and were unaware that we made the second round of the NBA playoffs. The Jazz were a contender in the West (obviously keeping in mind that NOBODY was going to beat that Warriors squad), and the Celtics proved to be a pretender in the East. They barely escaped the 8-see Chicago Bulls, and arguably only won that series because Rajon Rondo got hurt a couple games in.

Who are the 2017 Boston Celtics?
Gordon took the easy way out. And guess what? It's not even going to get him a championship. Nobody is going to beat the Warriors next year, or in any year in the foreseeable future, anyway. Not even Gordon and the Celtics. I'll give him this, though: Gordon is one step closer to doing something that the Jazz have never been able to do - get knocked out of the playoffs by LeBron James. That's right. I don't believe that Gordon and the Celtics will even make the NBA Finals.

The only thing I see that Boston offers that Utah does not is an easier path to the All-Star game, which he will undoubtedly make for years to come. I loved Paul Millsap when he was here, but let's be real: the only reason he's been to so many All-Star games is because he played in Atlanta. The way the NBA is heading, with so many Eastern Conference stars relocating to the West, I could make their All-Star team - and I've got a bum knee and shoot incredibly inconsistently.

Boston: "Hey, Gordon. If you come out here, we can guarantee you a chance to get humiliated by the Western Conference All-Stars for the next five years..."
Gordon: "Sorry, did you just say 'All-Star' and 'next five years'? Sign me up!"

 I saw a tweet yesterday that said that Gordon's statue in Boston will be of him, yelling at Isaiah Thomas to pass him the ball.

History vs Destiny

One of the other facets of this situation that really bothers me was the fact that Gordon seemed to be so entranced by the legendary history of the Boston Celtics that it clouded his judgment moving forward. I already talked about the win-loss ratio of the two teams, but let's talk championships. Actually, let's let Rudy Gobert talk championships:
Hilarious, I thought. Instant classic, Twitter style. I loved that tweet. Then that midget Isaiah Thomas chimed in:
And so did Miami's Hassan Whiteside:
Ok, sure. Boston has won 17 NBA championships and Miami has three. BUT HOW MANY OF THOSE WERE WON BY ANYONE CURRENTLY ON EITHER OF THOSE ROSTERS?? NONE!!

Gordon gave up his chance at what I thought was a sure shot at a statue in Salt Lake City, with his number in the rafters and the adoring praise of Jazz fans for time and all eternity because he wants to hang out with his buddy, Brad Stevens, and he thinks it's cool that Bill Russell won a bunch of titles back in the day, before he was even born. He picked Boston's franchise over Utah's future. He gave up everything that he had built here, with no regard for the teammates he'd been playing with for a better perceived chance to make it to the NBA Finals. When the going got tough, Gordon Hayward got going... to a different city.

My brother Austin put Gordon's betrayal this way: "He was our guy. We adopted him. He was the friendly neighborhood Hayward. [This was] like seeing your ex leave you for an obviously worse situation after you've put in a ton of work at the gym and you're finally starting to get that beach bod. Right before you start looking really ripped, she leaves you."

Random Thoughts

  • Donny Osmond has got to be pissed.
  • Supposedly, his wife, Robyn, didn't like living in Salt Lake City? Was that really a factor? Who freaking cares? Your husband is making more money than I will ever see in my entire life. Suck it up, girl.
  • Also, I see that she has disabled comments on her Instagram account... I didn't follow her, so I don't know if that's a recent development, but she mentioned in her most recent post that people have been making "mean comments and threats." Athletes are humans, too, she says. If she thinks Jazz fans are mean, just wait until she moves to Boston, who I recently heard some New Yorkers refer to as "the most racist city in America." Ask Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones how he feels about Boston, why don't you, Robyn? Sounds like a real friendly place to me!
  • I thought, a couple times yesterday, "I wonder how Gordon's Fourth of July is going... Did he even have a barbecue? Did he cry at all?" I hope he did.
  • I'd be ok if I never saw Danny Ainge again in my life.
  • The fact that Rudy is "liking" social media posts of Jazz fans burning their Hayward jerseys makes me so happy. I can't wait for Gordon to come back and have his shot swatted by the Stifle Tower. There will be animosity. Celtics vs Jazz in Salt Lake City on Christmas Day. Make it happen, NBA!!


This Was Our Chance

A big part of me selfishly hoped that Gordon would stay so we could stick it to The Man. I was so tired of people dogging the Jazz in Facebook comments sections lately. Talking about Utah as if it were part of some God-forsaken third-world country... I saw some jack-knob say that Gordon should stay in Utah because he heard we just got our second Wal-Mart. And the polygamy jokes... How ignorant. How out-of-touch.

Hey, the 1800s called; they want their insults back.

 And I was hoping that this would, for once, dismiss the long-standing belief that no big free agents would ever willingly choose to play in Utah. Welp, Gordon proved them right. He didn't want to play in Utah.

I find it hilarious that all these Boston and Miami fans were suddenly such big Gordon Hayward fans. They probably knew nothing about him. I doubt they ever watched him play. Another Facebook comment said that the only things that could possibly keep Gordon in Utah were "Gobert and that big white guy." Um, if by "big white guy," they're referring to Joe Ingles, he's only 6'8", so they have no idea what they're talking about. The Jazz are actually one of the most culturally diverse teams in the entire league, thank you very much.

Nevertheless, the haters live to scoff another day, to the everlasting expense of Jazz Nation. When will we ever catch a break?

We sure were spoiled when John Stockton and Karl Malone stayed here for two decades. That may never happen again in our lifetimes.


#Betrayward: The Final Judgment

Yet again, this fiasco has felt like two steps forward and three steps back for a team that continues what many have referred to as a "perpetual rebuild." We finally got good. I was so stoked for this season. Then Gordon ditched us in a fall from grace that I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams. Ironically, we booed when the Jazz drafted Gordon Hayward, and we booed him on the way out the door, as well.

Gordon Hayward has become Too Big Yo for his britches.

 So the question now remains: how much do we hate Gordon Hayward?

 Let's run down the list of hated ex-Jazz players:

  • Derek Fisher: He lied about his family to get out of his contract. He said he needed to be closer to the doctors in New York, then promptly signed with the Lakers. Derek was never good at geography, but I don't hate him as much as everyone else because this all transpired while I was serving an LDS mission.
  • Deron Williams: D-Will did some really great things while in a Jazz uniform, but he had a nasty temper that resulted in a few outbursts - notably, angrily throwing the ball at Gordon Haward's head and driving beloved Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan into mid-season retirement. We hate Deron. We all hate Deron. #CoachKiller
  • Enes Kanter: The guy was a moron, plain and simple. The Jazz realized that he was becoming a cancer and we traded him to Oklahoma City, where he launched a passive aggressive barrage of insults Utah's way, including that he finally knew what it meant to be part of a "professional" organization and that the only thing he missed about Utah were "the mountains." When he punched a chair and broke his arm last year, I didn't even feel bad. Not at all.

I'm sure that the Haywards would be shocked if they had seen some of the things Jazz fans have been saying about them lately - and some of the stuff has probably crossed the line of decency, I'm sure. But let's give it a year or two and see how Bostonians react when he and that little midget Isaiah Thomas can't get the job done. Those fans will run him out of town on a rail.

So do we truly hate Gordon? To make a long story short (too late), I'm pretty upset with Gordon. Yesterday, for me, was a strange mixture of anger, jealousy and disappointment. Today, I felt a little bad after reading his agent's supposed explanation of yesterday's PR nightmare. If this story is to be believed, which I'm not sure that it entirely is, it seems like Gordon meant well, but somebody leaked his plan and everything spiraled #Downward from there.

But then I think about how that whole "we haven't made a decision yet" garbage was a gigantic lie. Gordon lied to us because he didn't want to look like a bad guy. But then it blew up in his face and, in the last 36 hours, he became a bigger villain here in Utah than anyone could have predicted. We rolled out the red carpet. We wanted him to stick around for life. We did everything he wanted us to do for him, and he left us anyway. Silly us. Am I sad? You bet. Am I angry? Heck yeah. Gordon has incurred the wrath of A-Town. The difference between Gordon and these other Public Enemies is that GORDON CHOSE TO LEAVE.

In any meaningful relationship, if there is ever one thing that you don't want to hear someone that you love say, it's this: "I don't want to be with you anymore." That is exactly what Gordon Hayward said yesterday. He botched this announcement worse than anything I can remember seeing before. I'm sure he meant well, but you know what they say... "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

See ya, Gordon. There's the door. Make sure your hair is looking good before you go. And no, I don't want to kiss you goodbye.

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