Utah Jazz: Gordon Hayward talks offseason, Kyrie-IT trade and more in latest blog

Gordon Hayward touched on some definite points of interest for Utah Jazz fans in his latest blog post, including the role that former Celtic Isaiah Thomas had in luring him to Boston.

It’s been such an interesting offseason for Utah Jazz fans that the sting of losing All-Star Gordon Hayward now feels like little more than a distant memory. However, every once in a while something will surface that serves as a painful reminder of just how things went down at the end of Hayward’s Jazz tenure.

On Thursday, Hayward released a blog on his website that had that exact effect. It was once fun for Jazz fans to read through the All-Star’s thoughts and keep up with his life both on and off the court, but now I imagine that any Jazz fan who reads his latest message (accessible in the link in the tweet below) won’t be able to do so without a bit of a grimace.

Hayward’s latest installment entitled “Back to Basketball” focused on this offseason as well as his excitement to get back to the hardwood and suit up for his new Boston Celtics team. However, he began by giving his praise to the Utah Jazz organization by saying the following:

"The Utah Jazz family, and I do mean family, have done so much for me, and it tore me apart to disappoint anyone and everyone associated with the Jazz. But it was a moment in my life where I had to make a decision that was best for me and my family. I will always have nothing but love for the entire Jazz organization and all of the fans.I only hope that as time goes by, everyone will realize I gave every ounce of energy I have to the fans, my teammates, coaches, and front office in Utah. I wish them all nothing but great success going forward."

While some Jazz fans may find the words hollow at this point, it was still good to see him leave at least some semblance of heartfelt words for a fanbase and organization that stood by him through thick and thin for so long.

However, the part of his latest article that may be of the greatest interest to Utah Jazz fans was his discussion of the surprising Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade that obviously took place after Gordon Hayward had agreed to sign with Boston. Even more noteworthy about his comments was the fact that Hayward stated that Thomas actually played a key role in winning him over to come to Boston in the first place.

The following is a snippet of what Gordon had to say on the matter:

"He didn’t just help recruit me to Boston—he was a big piece of that recruitment. He had talked a lot about city and how it was different to be a Celtic. He talked about the intensity of playing in the Eastern Conference Finals, playing at the Garden in the playoffs, and how much fun it was, and how much fun he had playing in Boston.All of that ultimately helped win me over. And by the time of the trade, I had already started to build a little bit of a relationship with him.But that is just how the business works. I have spent enough years in the NBA to realize that things can change like that, in an instant. Still, even though we didn’t necessarily get to be teammates, I’m definitely going to be watching him as a fan. In this league, I think we are all rooting for each other in some way or another—just to try to stay healthy, to try to be the best we can be."

Quite truthfully, this is the aspect of the whole Hayward-to-Boston situation that really intrigues me the most – several of the guys Hayward may have believed he’d be playing with in 2017-18 are no longer with the team. And Isaiah Thomas is at the forefront of those guys. Thus, the roster he thought he was joining has changed significantly in a very short period of time and it will be interesting to see how the new group coexists.

It was no secret that Thomas had been known for recruiting players to join him in Boston, thus the fact that he indeed was the one who tipped the scale for Hayward comes as little surprise. He was the heart and soul of the Celtics, so being a key figure in Hayward’s recruitment makes perfect sense, and seeing him traded away without a second thought was truly quite shocking.

It sounds like Hayward was surprised as well, but he was also full of praise for his new teammate Kyrie Irving, who could end up being a great running mate for the former Jazz star. However, I have to admit that I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at Hayward’s closing statements about Isaiah, mentioning that he’s going to be watching him as a fan and rooting for him.

Hopefully someone has told Hayward that his “goody buddy” Isaiah Thomas now plays for the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers who they’ll be playing on opening night and likely doing battle with all season long for playoff positioning and into the postseason as they fight for a trip to the Finals. And on top of that, given the whole Kyrie Irving situation, there’s bound to be no small amount of bad blood between these two teams.

Obviously I know he understands all that, but I still just found it odd as, when all is said and done, even if he still feels a connection to Isaiah, it may be harder than he thinks to be a fan of him and his team when it all comes down to it. The Celtics and Cavs are primed to be bitter rivals this upcoming year to the point that any sort of former camaraderie between players may be hard to reignite.

Beyond that, Hayward spent the rest of his article explaining how excited he is to play in Boston, describing life off the court for him and then detailing his expectations as a Celtic. Overall, it was much what one would expect, however, I must say that I grimaced significantly when he mentioned Al Horford’s defensive prowess (Rudy Gobert, anyone?) and when he raved about how good Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum looked in Summer League (I believe Donovan Mitchell would like a word!).

From there he made it clear that he was looking forward to raising Boston’s 18th banner. That’s obviously a noble goal and the expectation that he most definitely ought to have, no matter how difficult it may still end up being to attain.

Next: Utah Jazz: Top 10 story lines to watch for in 2017-18

And only time will tell how his time in Boston plays out. As exciting as the Utah Jazz’s offseason ended up being, as much upside as the guys on their roster have and as bright as the team’s future still is, it’s going to be hard not to wonder what might have been had Gordon Hayward stay put.

But as we all already know all too well, that ship has long sailed. And while Hayward may be excited for his new beginning, it’s been clear all summer long that the current members of the Utah Jazz are thrilled for theirs as well.

And for that very reason, Hayward’s departure and the projected decline of the Jazz this upcoming season notwithstanding, I’m about as excited for Utah’s 2017-18 campaign as I’ve ever been about any previous year.