The Jazz just lost - and that's ok

Last year, the Utah Jazz defied the odds to upset the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The season ended exactly one year ago in 2017, with the Jazz being swept out of contention by the eventual champions, the Golden State Warriors. It was a big stepping stone for the team, which hadn't been to the playoffs in five years - and hadn't won a playoff series in seven. At the time, I blogged to acknowledge the Jazz' inevitable defeat, saying "The Jazz are going to lose - and that's ok." (You can read that blog here, if you really want.) With the 2017-18 season coming to a close for the Jazz last night, I figured I would write a companion blog to shed a new perspective on the future of the franchise. Behold:

The Past

When Gordon Hayward ruined our Fourth of July by announcing that he was leaving the Jazz high and dry in favor of joining the Boston Celtics and his boyfriend/college coach, Brad Stevens, I was furious. I even blogged about it. We begged the fool to stay and he left us anyway. Austin blogged about that. National media ridiculed us, spat in our faces and left us for dead. It was widely presumed that the Jazz would have a good defense, but no offense to go along with it. People said we wouldn't make the playoffs. Best-case scenario, I figured we could still make the playoffs as the Eight Seed, and I tried to talk myself into believing that we would be fine without Hayward.

Before Gordon took the wussy way out, the Jazz made some acquisitions to try to keep the first-time All-Star happy. We traded for the flashy Spanish point guard, Ricky Rubio. We picked up a couple other middle-of-the-road journeymen in Thabo Sefolosha, Jonas Jerebko and Epke Udoh. But with Gordon delaying (and absolutely botching) his decision for so long, we lost out on the opportunity to pick up anybody to replace him as the go-to scorer. We would likely have to rely on up-and-comer Rodney Hood to take the torch and lead the way, moving forward.

Elsewhere in The Association, there were some other big moves during the offseason, and most of the NBA's prominent talent came out west. Perennial Eastern Conference All-Star Jimmy Butler headed to Minnesota and Oklahoma City formed what people were calling "the next Big Three" when they acquired Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, to go along with reigning MVP Russell Westbrook. In my opinion, the 2017-18 Midwest Division looked like the toughest division, arguably, in the history of the NBA (and, in the end, it was). (It is also of note that, although he didn't switch conferences, Chris Paul left the crumbling LA Clippers - demoralized after being knocked out of he playoffs by last year's Jazz team - and joined James Harden and the Houston Rockets. With the loss of Hayward and stiffened competition in our neck of the woods, this was going to be a really tough year for the boys from Salt Lake City.

Nevertheless, we embarked on a journey that began with the Summer League, where we got our first look at the new rookie - a kid out of Louisville named Donovan Mitchell. He was outspokenly a defense-first guard who was excited to make some plays - and he did during one incredible sequence where he put Celtics rookie Jason Tatum on his backside before dishing to ball off for a slam dunk. Little did we know what this defense-first guard would turn out to be. More on that later.

The Present

The very first memory I have of the 2017 NBA season is getting a text from my good friend and long-time Jazz fan "Pistol" Steve Roush. The text said, "OH MY GOSH!!!" I was watching playoff baseball at the time, so I didn't know what he was referring to. "Are you watching this?" he asked. I surmised that he was talking about the Cavaliers-Celtics game, which I had some morbid curiosity about, but I couldn't bear to watch Hayward in Boston green. "Hayward just broke his leg." I didn't believe it. But it was true. Just minutes into his Celtics debut, Gordon Hayward's season was over. Ironic. That's all I'm going to say. Ironic. He would spend the entire season in hospital beds and physical therapy and won't be back until next season. I still can't believe it.

I was in attendance for the first Jazz game of the season. Rodney Hood was scheduled to start, but was a late scratch and had to be filled in for by none other than our rookie, Donovan Mitchell. The season started out rough for Donovan, who really struggled shooting the ball for the first few games. I tried to be patient with him, chalking it up to being a "learning experience" for a rookie we hoped would be able to contribute this season.

Watching Donovan fill in for Rodney would end up being somewhat representative of the season as a whole. Rodney was not able to fill the shoes we intended for him and had a very tough time staying consistent on the offensive end. One night, he'd go for 30 points, then he wouldn't be able to buy a bucket for the next week. As he had been previously in his career, he was quite injury-prone, and it got to the point where some Jazz fans questioned his toughness - physically and mentally. It felt as though Rodney didn't want to play unless he was at 100% health. It was frustrating to watch.

But while Rodney struggled and Ricky Rubio took time to adjust to his new team and offensive schemes, Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles and the rookie himself, Donovan Mitchell, picked up the slack under the brilliant leadership of Quin Snyder.

Rudy Gobert remained a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end, maintaining his reputation as one of the best defensive stars in basketball. By the end of the year, he would be the front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year. However, several injuries sidelined Rudy for large stretches of the season, and without him, the Jazz really struggled. After an ugly loss to Atlanta (our second defeat at the hands of the lowly Hawks), the Jazz fell to 19-28. I was ready to call it a season and the #TankNote movement gained steam. It looked like this would end up being one of those infamous "rebuilding years" that would be used primarily for the development of future talent. But a tweet from the Stifle Tower turned this season completely around with four simple words:

We will be fine

— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) January 6, 2018

The Jazz finished the season by going 29-6, finishing as the Five Seed with a 48-34 record and stringing together one of the most impressive win streaks in Jazz franchise history. Notably, we beat the defending champion Golden State Warriors by 20, 30 and 40 points this season. Incredible! #NeverForget! Nobody saw that turnaround coming - and what was even better was the individual progress that we got along with it.

We watched Donovan develop before our eyes and marveled as he dunked on Lonzo Ball and put up 41 points against the Pelicans during his second month in the league. (Fun fact: Gordon Hayward's career high is 40 points.)  He would ultimately end up winning the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award for December, January, February and March. He won the Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend. He would become one of the most talked-about players in the entire league over the course of the season and was the focus of the hottest basketball debate of the year as he and Philadelphia's Ben Simmons were neck-and-neck in Rookie of the Year discussions. Donovan set Jazz rookie records. He etched his name into the Top Three and Top Five of NBA rookie records.

THIS KID IS SPECIAL.

I'm not sure we truly realize nor fully appreciate what we have on our hands with Donovan. He is humble. He is gracious. He is a hardcore mama's boy who loves his family. He loves Utah. He has friends in the league. He is sought out after games by the biggest names in the league, including LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Chris Paul, just to name a few. THIS NEVER HAPPENS. Not in Utah, it doesn't. BUT IT IS HAPPENING! Most impressively of all, possibly, is the fact that we did all of this without Gordon Hayward. If Hayward had stayed, who knows if Donovan would have been able to shine like this? In the state of Utah, Donovan Mitchell can do no wrong. I once saw a tweet saying that we would let him walk into the Salt Lake Temple without a recommend. I don't entirely disagree. He is making the Utah Jazz popular again. We've got a little bandwagon following right now, and, as a lifelong Jazz fan, that was something I never would have thought would happen. I want to invite Donovan over for dinner. Also, side note, my mother has given me permission to marry him.

...

...

To break up that awkwardness, can I just say that I actually really ended up loving the Jazz "City Edition" jerseys that I thought were frighteningly ugly at first? And that court, too. Dang. So great.

Anyway, "Jingling" Joe Ingles had a breakout year. He became a legit starter in the league (not just some guy that we used to fill a position) and was a league leader in field goal percentage from beyond the arc. He broke the Jazz single-season record for three pointers made. His personality shined as he trash-talked his competition and drew many an Office comparison. The guys on "Inside the NBA" sure seem to like him.

Royce O'Neale was an undrafted free agent and ended up becoming a pivotal piece of the roster. Jerebko and Sefolosha were much better than I anticipated (although Thabo spent most of the season on the injured list). We got to watch David Stockton, the son of the G.O.A.T. John Stockton finish the season with the team. Raul Neto and Dante Exum were able to step up and fill in when necessary, and we even saw the Magic Man Alec Burks play some important minutes here in the past few weeks.

As for Rodney Hood, we traded him to Cleveland for Jae Crowder. Jae was consistently named the fabled Subway Sub of the Game, leading the bench in scoring in almost every game he played. Rodney, on the other hand, made headlines this week by refusing to come off the bench during "garbage time" as the Cavs swept the One Seed Raptors to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Oh, what could have been...

The Playoffs

Finishing as the fifth seed in the Western Conference meant that we would start the first round on the road against Oklahoma City. There were two teams I didn't want to play in the playoffs, and OKC was one of them. Their first season as a so-called "superteam" didn't go as well as I think many people hoped it would, but we struggled when we played them three times at the beginning of the season. I didn't think it was a great match-up, and I thought that there were several other teams in the West that the Jazz could have disposed of quite easily. Nonetheless, we got our assignment, the team packed their collective bags, and the postseason was underway.

We got walloped in Game 1, as Paul George went off for 36 points and led the Thunder to a 1-0 series lead. It was not the start that I was hoping for, but I figured if we could get a split and win the next game, we would be ok. We did just that, tying the series at one game a piece and heading back home for Game 3. We played really well against the Thunder - surprisingly well - and we beat them in six games, despite blowing a 25-point lead in Game 5. We beat the self-proclaimed "OK3," just like we beat "Lob City" last year. It was beautiful, and Oklahoma City will never be the same. What's more, this was Ricky Rubio's first playoff appearance of his career and he looked like he was having the time of his life. I was so happy for him.

In the second round, we matched up with the best team in the league, the Houston Rockets, in what was ultimately a pretty lopsided series. The Rockets handed it to us for the majority of the time, but we did win Game 2 on the road, which I thought was totally awesome. The entire country basically assumed we would get swept, including Charles Barkley, who made a bold prediction before we stole the second game in Houston:

Pardon? @NBAonTNT #JazzWin #TakeNote #UTAatHOU pic.twitter.com/wVmd2tjp4g

— Aaron Christensen (@atownmania) May 3, 2018

Eat your words, Chuck!

The Jazz ended up losing the series last night, four games to one, but I couldn't be prouder of these guys. We fought through adversity, negative and, oftentimes, no media coverage, a slew of injuries and pretty much anything else you could possibly imagine, and ended up having a way better season than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams.

If you would have told me on July 5, 2017, that the Jazz would have leading candidates for Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, that we would finish fifth in the West (just like last year), that we would dismantle Oklahoma City and its superteam and that we'd steal a game on the road in the second round against the best team in the league - without our starting point guard playing a single game in the second round -- all the while being led by a rookie -- and (most shockingly) that I would not have missed Gordon AT ALL, well... well, you could have just slapped my phone and called me Robyn Hayward.

The Future

The tough thing about sports is that you almost never get to end your season on a positive note. Only one team ends up winning the championship, and everybody else loses. My Utah Jazz haven't been back to the Finals since 1998. It's been 20 long years, people!! But last night, as I watched the Jazz put up a fight that nearly brought the series back to Utah for Game 6, I couldn't have been any happier. We weren't supposed to beat the Rockets. Heck, we weren't even supposed to be there. It was a pleasure to watch this team. It was a roller coaster of a season, but that stretch of wins after the second Atlanta loss was preposterously fun. Remember that stretch when every team was trying to fight us?

Speaking of which, remember that time when I tweeted at Jimmy Butler and went viral? Oh man, good times.

Classy tweet from a dude that was too hungover to play in the All-Star Game.

— Aaron Christensen (@atownmania) March 3, 2018

This season, the Jazz became must-see TV for me, and I had no problem penciling them in for nearly every single game.

Now that the season is over, my schedule frees up considerably and much of the worry and stress in my life is done, which is really nice - not gonna lie. I don't have to watch another second of this postseason if I don't want to (and I really don't want to... I just hope the Warriors humiliate that flopper James Harden and his whiny little midget friend Chris Paul in the Western Conference Finals).

Whereas last season ended with Jazz fans chanting Gordon Hayward's name and helplessly pleading with him to stay in Utah, this season ended with Jazz fans chanting Ricky Rubio's name while he posted a triple-double against Russell Westbrook and with NBA fans - from all different teams - tweeting about Donovan Mitchell's gutsy 22-point third quarter as the team tried to stave off elimination. Instead of worrying about the future like last year, I look forward to it. We have a great core for the roster that sets us up to be one of the best teams in the league next year. And how can you not just love these players? They have been so fun. I think that our likability factor, with young, talented guys like Ricky and Rudy and a lovable kid like Donovan Mitchell leading the way, we just might be able to attract some big names to come play in Salt Lake City in the future.

We've got a good thing going and it won't be stopping here. We'll be back in the Western Conference Semi-finals, with an even better chance of knocking off our opponents for a chance to play for that conference championship. It will happen. And it's all going to happen much sooner than anyone could have predicted.

Thank you, Utah Jazz, for an incredible season. We love you boys and are so proud of the work you put in this year. We'll see you next season, and I've got a feeling that we will be fine after all.

#TakeNote

#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 still can't get over how Gordon Hayward allowed Jazz fans' hearts to be broken twice in one day. It really makes his blog feel hollow.

— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) July 5, 2017

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:

🌴🗑☘️💩🎷🏆

— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) July 2, 2017

Hilarious, I thought. Instant classic, Twitter style. I loved that tweet. Then that midget Isaiah Thomas chimed in:

🌴🏆🏆🏆☘️🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🎷🙅🏾‍♂️

— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) July 2, 2017

And so did Miami's Hassan Whiteside:

2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣➡️2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣7️⃣☘️💍🌴💍💍💍 🎷🤷🏽‍♂️🤷‍♀️🤷🏻‍♂️

— Hassan Whiteside (@youngwhiteside) July 2, 2017

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."

But really, imagine being Quin. Jazz go from 20 to 50-win seasons in 4 years under him, only to hear "I like Brad better." That's gotta hurt

— Firsto Lasto (@CowhideGlobe) July 5, 2017

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.

#Stayward: 7 reasons why Gordon Hayward should stay in Utah

Unless you live in China and don’t have access to Google or the desire to follow the NBA, you’ve likely seen at least one post about Gordon Hayward leaving Utah in free agency to take his talents to South Beach or reunite with his old college coach in Boston. I, however, am not convinced that either of those are good ideas for Gordon. It’s not often that the Utah Jazz turn out to be the best location for big-time free agents, but here are a few reasons why Utah is the perfect destination for G-Time:

1. We drafted him

It’s well-documented that the Jazz could have picked Paul George instead of Gordon Hayward in the 2010 NBA draft. The Jazz believed that Gordon would be the better option, contrary to popular opinion at the time, and I believe that that decision has paid off for both parties. Paul George, in my ever so humble opinion as a lowly blogger, is overrated. Hayward, on the other hand, might be one of the most underrated stars of his generation. He was an all-star, sure, but I don’t believe he gets all the credit that he deserves from people outside of Jazz Nation. We believed in Gordon when other people didn’t. I think that that should mean something to him.

2. Loyalty counts

Growing up in Indiana, Gordon was an Indiana Pacers fan and he cheered for Reggie Miller. Miller, whom I’m not crazy about, always had something in him that I admired: loyalty. He could have left and gone to a bigger market and made more money on endorsement deals. He could have joined up with his archenemies in New York or Chicago and formed a super-team. But Reggie gave that up to be loyal to the team that drafted him and the state that adopted him. Gordon is in a situation where proving his loyalty to us in the coming days would cement him as an all-time Utah Jazz great. Number 20 would hang from the rafters of the Delta Solutions Smart Home Arena forever, and his legacy would be cemented in the hearts of Jazz fans around the country.

3. We care about him more

Not only does Utah have a more passionate fan base than Boston or Miami, but we actually care about him. In Boston, the Celtics are the second, sometimes third fiddle to the Red Sox and Bruins. I’m not sure if the city of Miami actually realizes that the night club that they attend also happens to double as a basketball arena, either. They don’t care as much as we do. In Utah, the Jazz are The Big Ticket (all due respect, Aaron) and they always will be. Not only are the Jazz the hottest show in town, but Gordon is the ringmaster. He’s the one we are going to see every night. If he goes to Boston, he’ll be appreciated, sure, but that will never be his team or his town. Miami might be one of the worst sports cities in America because they don’t care. They show up late to NBA Finals games and leave early. They gotta hit up the club, right? Gordon Hayward means something to us. He’s connected with the fan base in a way that nobody has since St. John (Stockton) himself. He’s a family man from a small NBA market who is quiet off the floor and efficient on it. There isn’t another team in the NBA that will care about or love Gordon Hayward more than the Utah Jazz.

4. We can offer more money

With the current NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, it allows for the team that the player was previously on to offer more money in free agency than other teams. This is a big advantage for smaller-market teams who are trying to keep their players. If he were to sign a "max contract" with the Jazz, he would have more security, as he’d be able to sign a six-year deal worth $236 million, whereas, with another team, he could only sign a four-year deal worth $132 million. This contract is likely the one with which he will make the most money in in his whole career, because at the end of the contract he will be 32 or 33 years old and will be towards the end of his prime, and thus worth less money. If it’s finances that Gordon is worried about, he has no reason to go elsewhere.

5. He doesn’t really have a better chance at winning in Miami or Boston

Boston added Al Horford in the offseason and people thought that that move might push them over the edge and into the NBA Finals. They even got the first seed in the Eastern Conference. Then they ran into the LeBron James buzzsaw and got smacked by the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. Here’s the thing: LeBron isn’t leaving Cleveland and LeBron is going to be in the finals wherever he is at. That’s the way it is and that’s the way it has been for the last seven years. Boston would have to beat Cleveland in the playoffs in order for them to get a ring. Not happening. If he goes to Miami, it would be even more difficult for him to make it far in the playoffs, as he would have to compete with both Boston and Cleveland and he would have less help on the Heat. The Jazz likely won’t be winning a ring anytime soon, either, but they have a brighter long-term future, with a younger roster than either Miami or Boston. Gordon probably won’t win a ring in any of the three likely destinations, but, as previously mentioned, he would make more money and be more appreciated in Utah.

6. Utah management caters to Gordon

They have ever since he got drafted here. They have plastered his face on billboards and on the front of the arena. He’s been in commercials and been the face of the organization pretty much since he arrived. Let's not forget that they declared June 24th "#HayDay." This offseason has further proved that the Jazz are trying to make moves to win right now, and we want him at the helm - not as a plan B. The Jazz moved up in the draft to get a lottery pick and traded for Ricky Rubio. The Jazz’s window is right now, and management is doing what they can to make the team as competitive as possible and to make Gordon Hayward as good as possible.

7. WE FREAKING LOVE HIM

(WARNING: SERIOUS MAN CRUSHING IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH)

I know I already touched on this, but I’m reiterating it because I think it’s that important: I’ve got a serious, serious man crush on Gordon Hayward. I love the guy. When I think about the Jazz over the last seven years, almost all of my good memories come back to him, somehow. I had the opportunity to work behind-the-scenes and see the players and coaches when the cameras weren’t on, and he is a class act. Everything that he did was awesome. In my life, I can’t think of another player that I have loved to watch and felt a connection to as much as G-Time. Jazz Nation has fallen in love with the chase-down blocks, slam dunks, good shooting, his humility and hard work. Gordon, if you’re out there, you’re the man. Please don’t leave. You’re a staple to the Utah community as a whole, not just our sports. We don’t only want you, we need you. Nobody else wants you or loves you more than we do. Please #Stayward.