Utah Jazz: Is Gordon Hayward Deal Next For Jazz?

The Utah Jazz have extended Derrick Favors. Though there has been a lot of talk about Favors’ extension and whether or not he will live up to his roughly $12 million per year price tag, Zach Lowe of Grantland, brings up the very good point that though Favors is not currently worth $12 million per year, the contract extension doesn’t kick in until next year and Favors would be a restricted free agent next summer when another team could swoop in and offer him a max deal. It may be a slight gamble by the Jazz, but if they weren’t proactive they would risk losing him in the offseason or having to pay him more than they hoped to.

What may have been the most important question raised by Favors’ extension is: What about Gordon Hayward? After all, we were hearing about Hayward’s contract negotiations over the summer before Favors. It will be interesting to see how Utah handles Hayward’s contract, as he and Favors were drafted in the same year, six picks apart. Both have had relatively limited roles on their team for top 10 picks and both are being given the opportunity to take over as leaders of a young Jazz team this season. One could argue that Hayward is, has been and will be a more important part of the team. Hayward has averaged about 25 minutes per game over his career compared to Favors’ 22. Hayward has been approaching 30 minutes per game over the last two years and has been an off-and-on starter for most of his career while Favors has been stuck behind Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. And while Hayward is not the defensive monster that his larger counterpart is, his per 36 average on steals is one per game to go along with nearly one block per game. Combine that with Hayward’s 14 points per game last season on 40 percent from beyond the arc and general offensive efficiency and it makes Hayward the most important remaining player on the roster (for now, at least).

It seems that the Jazz front office may agree. Within days of Favors’ extension becoming news, ESPN’s Marc Stein tweeted that Hayward’s extension is likely on it’s way as well.

As was said initially about only Favors’ extension, this is a huge step for the Jazz. Utah will go from having their most important players on rookie contracts to having two starters on nearly max contracts. If done, the extensions may benefit both the Jazz and their young stars equally. All parties will get to avoid the uneasy uncertainty that this coming season could have been, as Utah won’t have to worry about another team swooping down in free agency and offering their guy a max contact and Hayward and Favors are getting paid regardless of under-performance or a big injury. Whether Jazz fans agree about the amount spent on these contract extensions, they should be happy that two future stars will be in a Jazz uniform for a long time to come.

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