Gordon Hayward

 I love his game!!  I wasn’t big on him during the draft but I have seen him alot since and I have fallen for his baby face..  LoL

He would be amazing with Kobe being the Pippen type player.  He is too unselfish to ever be a 25 point scorer but he could be a triple double threat by the time he is 25..

 I like what he’s doing tonight and I think he’ll be in this league for a long time. His peak numbers will probably be around 17-19 ppg with 6 boards and 4 assists. But the thing I like about his game is his fearlessness when he drives! Again, as mentioned, he had a nice slam on Rudy and I like that. He probably has a rep of being just another shooter to the average fan but from the games I’ve watched, he’s always looking to drive whenever he gets a chance. I can’t quite think of a comparison for him just yet but I see some Manu Ginoboli-esqe qualities in his game in all honesty. 

 This guy is like a dare devil ,he just flys at the rim and doesnt care if he gets hit and tries to dunk it everytime.

He plays really tough and has a nice all around game 

I’ve been pleasantly surprised with him. I at first thought Utah should use their possible 2 lottery picks this year on a SF and a PG, but now with Hayward playing so well, I’m praying Utah trades one of their picks. To me he has a little Hedo in him(in his first days in Orlando, when they were in the finals against the Lakers in 2009) Very good passer, improving defense, not a horrible 3 point shooter(although that needs to get better). I really like him and I can’t wait to see him in the rookie-sophomore game in 2 weeks!

Do you see him as a full time SG or SF? Which position do you think is more suitable for his game? He contains the versetility to be a 3, but lacks a respectable bulk for his body. He can move well w/o the ball in his hands and has a great shooting stroke when he’s on fire. What do you think?

 He is stronger than you think..  You can’t compare his strength to LBJ because that is just unfair.. He is not the strongest SF around but he is far from the weakest.

He’s pretty passive, needs to take more shots and be more involved in plays but he is also one of Jazz’s best passers/creators.

I had pretty high expectations coming into this season expecially the way he played towards the tail end of last season.

His aggressiveness and vision is impressive..his ball handling is also better than I thought..I don’t ever see him becoming a legit 1st option but multi faceted 2nd or 3rd option…
I swear I love watching Utah play….especially when favors gets his mini Howard on….

Yea dude was fearless. Went to the rim and took all the beating he could. Saw that nasty fall he came back up from? Yikes.

 ill admit i wasnt sold on him when he got drafted

i had to see him in nba action, and now that ive gotten a couple of glimpses… hes got talent! i saw that when the jazz played against the mavericks??? i dont remember which team they faced…. but he can attack the rim and finish…. 

u can see his skills…. but like indy said, hes not really much of a shooter… hes inconsistent from the outside

he will be good…. not if… he will 

Are you guys actually saying he will be a good starter? Or a good player. I agree he will be a nice role player. However I’m not sure how 42% shooting (24% from 3) not really any special rebouding or passing. Can get a block or steal in a game. Seems like good energy off the bench, I see no signs of anything more than that. I expected him to play around this level (as he should if you are a top 10 pick if not better).

"Are you guys actually saying he will be a good starter? Or a good player. I agree he will be a nice role player. However I’m not sure how 42% shooting (24% from 3) not really any special rebouding or passing."

Hayward shot 49% from the field last season and 47% from behind the arc. He’s shot 59% in his last five games. He’s had a rough start to the season, but he’s a much better shooter than the stat-sheet suggests.

Best case: I could see him putting up 17, 5 and 5 while shooting 50/40/90 eventually. Great defender, hard worker, tough and smart. Hard to see him not reaching his full potential.

Gotta listen to NoMoney when it comes to the Jazz.. He knows his stuff..

Hey NoMoney, do me a favor?? Jump over to the MKG/Barnes thread and take a look at this little spat Im in and give me an honest opinion about it.. Am I right or wrong?

I really like what Hayward bring to the table offensively and he is a hard worker so i’m sure his D will improve. He could be a very good 3 option or a good 2nd option on a play-off team. He has the same issue as guys like Paul George and Derrick Favors and that is consistancy. An All-Star appearance or 2 is not out of the realm of possiblilty, he reminds me a bit of Kevin Martin as a scorer but is willing to play defense.

I love Paul George as well. He’s got all-star written all over him.

I didn’t like him as a prospect before he was drafted, but I’ve completely 180ed. He has all the tools to be an ideal small forward. Great pick by the Pacers.

No doubt i think he could be a solid starter averaging around 15 Points 6 Boards and 3 or 4 Assists a game.. I thought it was a great pick for the Jazz because they were going to lose D Will so they need more guys who can create for the several scores the Jazz have if motivated.

For some reasons,he always plays well against the elite players..Remember last year when he scored 30 against Kobe and the Lakers?

1 thing i’ve notice about him is that he also plays better against teams that love to run..He’s scored in double digits this season in almost all his games against teams that run..So maybe Utah should scrap their grind it out game and add a more free flowing offense,i think that’ll help both Hayward and Devin Harris to Flourish…But cutting that slow down pace might effect Jefferson and Millsaps, their bread and butter players..

 I think he’ll be a 15ppg 5 apg 5 rpg player in the near future and I think his potential is a 20 5apg 5 rpg player.  He’s a nice all around player and he’s a big reason as to why Utah is playing a lot better than most thought they would.

I love what he has done this year. 

he has played as a creator in offense showing strong playmaking skills and very good passing skills.

If you consider the amount of time he has the ball in his hands he’s probably the best passer on the team (sans possibly Tinsley who gets no play time).  I have a hard time seeing him getting any less than 5 apg in his prime.  IMO the number could be as high as 6-7 apg depending on how much the O runs through him during his prime years.

This board is ridiculous with trending players. If a player has a good game, people on this board act like it’s what they can do every game. Same thing goes with a player having a bad game. If someone disagrees with one of their lover boys, you get negged like crazy. Gordon Hayward isn’t THAT good… It’s hilarious you guys wanna seem to slurp all the white guys who go in the lottery.

Hayward isn’t a trending player.  He’s a good young player slowly improving during his first season as a clear starter.  People are posting about him today because he outplayed a very good player yesterday, but the projections you’re seeing about him are not based on one game.

It is pretty much universally accepted that Hayward has had a major shooting slump this year and has played below expectation (almost completely due to shooting woes).  However, it’s also almost universally accepted that Hayward is actually a very good shooter and that he’s likely to come out of his slump.  Even though he hasn’t played great this year he’s still averaging 10/3/3 in his second year in the NBA.  To suggest he’ll likely reach 17/5/5 in his prime (the common feeling of posters on this thread) is hardly a reach.

"This board is ridiculous with trending players. If a player has a good game, people on this board act like it’s what they can do every game. Same thing goes with a player having a bad game. If someone disagrees with one of their lover boys, you get negged like crazy. Gordon Hayward isn’t THAT good… It’s hilarious you guys wanna seem to slurp all the white guys who go in the lottery. "

A number of posters have been saying Hayward will be a good player for a while, even before he started playing well. I’ve been consistent in saying how I project him developing as a player.

Utah takes Gordon Hayward? – June 24th, 2010

Time to Give Up on Hayward? – December 13th, 2010

Will Gordon Hayward be an allstar? – August 6th, 2011

I agree that a lot of people around here flip-flop, though that shouldn’t be an argument against Gordon Hayward as a basketball player.

I would throw my last dollar on a bet that Gordon Hayward will never be a 20-5-5 type player.  Not even remotely close IMO.