Utah Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward has had a career year, and — be it in Utah or elsewhere — is headed for a payday this summer. Hayward’s head coach Quin Snyder tells Jody Genessy of the Deseret News that he believes that Hayward is “all in” on the Jazz:
“I think people here know it. That’s why they’ve got billboards of him going up apparently,” Snyder said of Hayward’s special season and the fan-driven #STAYWARD billboard campaign. “He’s being rewarded for the investment. His whole heart is in it. He’s all in.”
This season for the Jazz, Hayward averaged career-high averages in points per game (21.9) and rebounds per game (5.4) despite playing 1.7 fewer minutes per game than he did last season. while shooting 47.1 percent from the field, 39.8 percent from the arc and a career-best 84.4 from the free throw line.
This was the finest season of Hayward’s career, and he was rewarded by being named to an All-Star team for the first time in his career.
Like their star, the Jazz had an impressive year. The team went 51-31, cracking 50 wins for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The Jazz made the playoffs as the fifth seed in the West. They will face the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.
