Celtics forward Gordon Hayward
The Utah Jazz are still working their way through the whole Gordon Hayward situation. Although we’re now in year two of Hayward’s time with the Boston Celtics, Jazz fans didn’t get to properly deal with the loss due to the forward’s injury. And to make matters worse, it seems the Jazz may have missed out on another opportunity due to their own patience with Hayward.
As Andy Larsen and Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune revealed, the Jazz felt “confident” they could land Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, before pulling out of a deal.
“…the Jazz traded for Ricky Rubio, but he wasn’t the only point guard the Jazz were considering. Besides the incumbent starter, George Hill, according to multiple Tribune sources, the Jazz spoke extensively to Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry’s representatives about bringing the All-Star point guard to Utah. After those discussions, the Jazz felt confident about their ability to land Lowry, but chose to pull out of any potential deal because signing Lowry would have required cap space earmarked for the Hayward.”
As a Jazz fan, that has to be pretty painful to hear. While the duo of Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell has turned out well to this point, Lowry is a four-time NBA All-Star. He went on to sign a three-year, $100 million deal and is now a focal point of the new-look Raptors, a group which also features Kawhi Leonard.
Arrow Pointing up for Jazz
Although it’s obviously tough to think about how the Jazz could look if Lowry had teamed up with Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in Utah. The team is coming off a 48-win season when many believed they’d have to rebuild due to the loss of Hayward.
Beyond that, the Jazz boast a core of Rubio, Mitchell, Gobert, Joe Ingles, Derrick Favors, and Jae Crowder. They also have a few solid role players including Royce O’Neale and Dante Exum, as well as a rookie in Grayson Allen who certainly has upside and untapped potential. There’s plenty of upside and Utah is one team trending in the right direction out West.
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