Gordon Hayward and the Utah Jazz are in talks about a contract extension. Hayward is going into the fourth and final year of his rookie contract with the Jazz and has proven to be a solid NBA wing player. It is clear he is part of Utah’s long-term plan as Gordon was the first of the Jazz’s young core to join the club.
Hayward was selected in the draft during a different era for the team. In his rookie season, Hayward played under Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan and alongside a group of NBA championship hopefuls led by Deron Williams. As the dominoes began to fall, starting with the resignation of Jerry Sloan, it became clear that the team would rebuild around Hayward. Gordon has seen his minutes and his role increase with the team each year of his career and that trend is likely to continue as the Jazz organization has called for Gordon to step up as the leader of the team going forward. It is likely that we will see contract extension talks between the Jazz and Derrick Favors as well, but the fact that the conversation started with Hayward first is an indication of how important Gordon is to the future of the team.
Hayward’s extension will be the starting point with which the Jazz front office will need to work around over the next several seasons, as the team looks to lock up the rest of their young core and add (they hope) a high lottery pick in next year’s draft. However, if the sides cannot come to an agreement, Utah will rest assured that they will still have the opportunity to sign him next summer. Hayward will be a restricted free agent and it is hard to imagine a scenario in which a team would offer Hayward a contract large enough that Utah wouldn’t match. The Jazz will likely be hoping to lock Hayward up for the next four years or so. Remember, Utah’s last go around with a contract extension for a young team leader wasn’t exactly a success, as Deron Williams only signed for three years with a player option for the fourth season. Utah would have loved to have the fourth season guaranteed, so it will be interesting to see whether they take that into consideration when dealing with Hayward and his teammates in the next year or two.
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