It wasn’t that he did it. It was HOW he did it.
This seems to be the consensus among most Jazz fans. Hayward started feeling Wayward about his decision and retracted when word leaked out early that he was headed to Boston. So, to honor the Declaration of Independence that was created on July 4th, 1776, here is a similar “list of grievances” that Jazz fans have about How Gordon handled free agency (similar to the list that was sent to King George):
- Gordon turned his back on Utah after we transformed him from a kid who was booed on draft night to an All-Star, from a kid averaging 18% field goal percentage in a playoff sweep in 2012 to a man who averaged 44% in the 2017 playoffs and advanced to the second round.
- Refused a decision had already been made because he wanted to write the decision he had already made in the Players Tribune.
- He overhypes himself into the Kevin Durant stratosphere by using the same Players Tribune to write a farewell letter that Kevin Durant did last year.
- He misspelled team President Steve Starks’ name. For the record Gordon, he’s not “Steve Stark”.
- Told the Jazz he wanted to play with Ricky Rubio then took himself away as the main scorer of the team that Rubio could have assisted to.
- Made Ricky Rubio fly thousands of miles from Spain as well as other Jazz personnel who flew hundreds of miles just to visit him in his summer home in San Diego.
- He trusts Brad Stevens, his college coach who hasn’t won any championship in his life, more than a Spurs protege in Quin Snyder.
- Betrayed best friend Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert
- Put the Utah Jazz franchise in a difficult spot, from being a top 4 western conference team to most likely barely making the playoffs.
- Didn’t inform the Jazz he was leaving in time for them to acquire some replacements, leaving them with a limited pool to choose from.
- Cost Jazz fans thousands of dollars in a #Stayward campaign that was unsuccessful
- Turned down a lucrative offer to join a Celtics team who needs to sacrifice depth to keep him and will need to wait for LeBron to leave to have a chance at winning the East.
- Joined a Celtics team that failed to get Jimmy Butler or PG-13, and gave up the number one pick in the draft. PG-13 must not mix well with G-Rated G-Time.
And the biggest reason of all that Jazz fans will hate him and Boo him:
He didn’t #Stayward. He became the Wayward son of Utah who will forever be lost in the harsh market of Boston. He will forever be known among Jazz fans as Betrayward. Now Utah knows how Cleveland felt when LeBronedict Arnold left. Too bad Hayward isn’t from Utah or maybe the Jazz would see their “Prodigal Son” return as LeBron returned to his home state of Ohio.