Was Gordon Hayward indirectly responsible for preventing the Utah Jazz from acquiring All-Star point-man Kyle Lowry? One report says it’s possible.
It’s finally happening. More than a year after he announced his decision to eschew the Utah Jazz in favor of the Boston Celtics via free agency, Gordon Hayward is set to make his long-awaited return to Salt Lake City on Friday night. And, despite the controversy surrounding his departure, the Jazz have decided to acknowledge and celebrate his time in the 801.
For my part, I think it’s a class move and one that I’m largely OK with. That said, there’s still a lot of discontent among the Jazz faithful where Hayward is concerned. And a report indicating that he may be indirectly responsible for the team’s decision not to acquire a certain All-Star point guard may add fuel to their fire.
There have been rumblings about this for some time, but a piece by Eric Walden and Andy Larsen has lent further credence to the notion that the Jazz would have been big-time players in the Kyle Lowry sweepstakes if not for Hayward’s free agency.
Per the report, the Jazz had an inside track on prying Lowry from the Toronto Raptors, but feared that inking him to a high-dollar deal would impede their ability to re-up with Hayward from a financial standpoint.
Here’s the scoop, via The Salt Lake Tribune —
"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. Lowry signed a new deal with the Raptors on July 3."
For the record, Lowry is a four-time All-Star and he’s currently averaging 18 points and a league-leading 11 assists per game this season. Even at the ripe, old age of 32, he’s player that could be making a major difference for the Jazz right now.
The idea that Jazz brass felt good about landing him, but balked at making the move so they could keep Hayward, only to watch the latter pack his bags for Boston definitely smarts. There’s obviously no guarantee Utah would have gotten Lowry, but the fact that all of their personal moves were made with Hayward in mind and he left anyway is still a gut shot.
At the least, it’s another thing for the anti-Hayward people set to attend the Jazz/Cs showdown to be ornery about.
I’ll say this — in the end, the Jazz did alright for themselves. Donovan Mitchell made the most of his opportunity sans Hayward (and perhaps Lowry) and the point guard they did get — Ricky Rubio — was a major part of the team’s success last season, although he’s struggled in 2018-19.
Also: they avoided paying Hayward the richest contract in team history and retained a lot of financial flexibility with which to build around Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in the years ahead. Who knows — maybe it was a good thing that Hayward left and Lowry never materialized.
Still, it’s hard not to wonder where the Jazz might be now if Lowry had made the jump to Jazzland.