Gordon Hayward: One of the worst Catch and Shoot "shooters" in the league

[Stifle Tower]

Prior to this season his career shooting averages were: 45%/40%.
So what has changed THIS SEASON and what might be the solution?

1. Make the PG the primary playmaker.
2. Utilize Hayward in the role he had last year, up his shots per game by no more than 2-4 (vs last year).
3. More rest. Gordon's minutes have gone up from 30 to 36. No reason some of that playing time shouldn't be given to Alec.

 

[just because]

If I remember correctly, Hayward went thru this same thing last season. Then he went in and got some extra help from the shooting coach and turned it around. They need to replace Horny with another shooting coach so Hayward can right the ship. Everything will be fine.

 

[MDAV28]

Prior to this season his career shooting averages were: 45%/40%.
So what has changed THIS SEASON and what might be the solution?

1. Make the PG the primary playmaker.
2. Utilize Hayward in the role he had last year, up his shots per game by no more than 2-4 (vs last year).
3. More rest. Gordon's minutes have gone up from 30 to 36. No reason some of that playing time shouldn't be given to Alec.

If we make Hayward this type of player (I'm picturing a 6th man based on these options), is he worth the money we will have to spend to keep him?

 

[akirac73]

If we make Hayward this type of player (I'm picturing a 6th man based on these options), is he worth the money we will have to spend to keep him?

Bingo! That's the whole point why we shouldn't overpay for Hayward.

 

[Stifle Tower]

If we make Hayward this type of player (I'm picturing a 6th man based on these options), is he worth the money we will have to spend to keep him?

His percentages go up by taking away the primary playmaking role, so points don't change. Rebounding rate is about the same. Assists go down a little. Delete my comment about the mins if need be; if Hayward is no longer running around trying to create, he could still go 33-35 mins, which is about average for a starter.

So 17/5/4; that's a pretty decent player. Some have cited Batum as a rough comp. Statistically the two are similar if look at career avgs. I think a contract in the $9-$10M range is about true value for Gordon. If a team really wants him, they'll need to go much higher; otherwise, the Jazz will match.

 

[cjs55]

I don't think his stroke is garbage at all. I think it's all in his mind, which is even more concerning in my opinion, because this part of gordon just seems to get worse and worse as his role gets more important. This whole 'put everything on Gordon' thing this year obviously failed horribly. Hayward just can't take that kind of pressure. I don't think Hayward is a #1 anyways, but the only thing stopping Hayward from being a legit #2 option is his mind. I really hope he's seeing a sports psychologist.

I also would have to guess that the whole contract thing is just killing him right now. He knows he's losing money with every shot he bricks, and its likely at this point he's regretting not taking what the Jazz offered him at the beginning of the year. Hayward is the kind of guy that gets into big shooting slumps without that added pressure. With it? Good luck.

 

[r_u_s_t_b_u_c_k_e_t]

I don't think his stroke is garbage at all. I think it's all in his mind, which is even more concerning in my opinion, because this part of gordon just seems to get worse and worse as his role gets more important. This whole 'put everything on Gordon' thing this year obviously failed horribly. Hayward just can't take that kind of pressure. I don't think Hayward is a #1 anyways, but the only thing stopping Hayward from being a legit #2 option is his mind. I really hope he's seeing a sports psychologist.

I also would have to guess that the whole contract thing is just killing him right now. He knows he's losing money with every shot he bricks, and its likely at this point he's regretting not taking what the Jazz offered him at the beginning of the year. Hayward is the kind of guy that gets into big shooting slumps without that added pressure. With it? Good luck.

Sounds like the perfect guy to give a $12-million-per-year contract. Make it so, DL!

 

[The Thriller]

If we make Hayward this type of player (I'm picturing a 6th man based on these options), is he worth the money we will have to spend to keep him?

This.

If Andrei Hayward wants to sign for 6th or 7th man money then that's fine. But I get the feeling that he thinks he should be paid as much as Favors if not more. If the Jazz want to screw themselves just like they did with andrei, they'll cave to Hayward's demands.

 

[Getting Traded]

This.

If Andrei Hayward wants to sign for 6th or 7th man money then that's fine. But I get the feeling that he thinks he should be paid as much as Favors if not more. If the Jazz want to screw themselves just like they did with andrei, they'll cave to Hayward's demands.

The difference is that Andrei already had made the All-Star team and All-Defense. Plus Andrei did seem to have a possibility of becoming a superstar if he could've become a good shooter, which never happened. Hayward is not in that category.

To me, Hayward seems to have a good stroke -- he's over 80 percent career FT % and .829 this year. Not sure what his problem is, though as some have suggested, it's probably more mental than anything.

Maybe he has Corbinitis ... something which I have contracted.

 

[VINYLONE]

I don't think his stroke is garbage at all. I think it's all in his mind, which is even more concerning in my opinion, because this part of gordon just seems to get worse and worse as his role gets more important. This whole 'put everything on Gordon' thing this year obviously failed horribly. Hayward just can't take that kind of pressure. I don't think Hayward is a #1 anyways, but the only thing stopping Hayward from being a legit #2 option is his mind. I really hope he's seeing a sports psychologist.

I also would have to guess that the whole contract thing is just killing him right now. He knows he's losing money with every shot he bricks, and its likely at this point he's regretting not taking what the Jazz offered him at the beginning of the year. Hayward is the kind of guy that gets into big shooting slumps without that added pressure. With it? Good luck.

Great post. It encompasses exactly what I think about Hayward.

His shooting form is decent. His drives, when aggressive, are also decent but he's missing something. His missing an intangible that the more successful players like P. George have. A chip on his shoulder. An attitude that he wants to win, he wants to be the best and he wants respect. I like Hayward, I like him a lot, but he needs to be more of an ******* on the court.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Lol at the haters and doubters.

 

[VINYLONE]

Lol at the haters and doubters.

Im not sure if this post was directed at me but I am assuredly not a Hayward hater. I am doubting his ability currently but I hope he proves me wrong. Doing so, makes the team prosper and brings the franchise closer to winning a championship.

 

[akirac73]

Great post. It encompasses exactly what I think about Hayward.

His shooting form is decent. His drives, when aggressive, are also decent but he's missing something. His missing an intangible that the more successful players like P. George have. A chip on his shoulder. An attitude that he wants to win, he wants to be the best and he wants respect. I like Hayward, I like him a lot, but he needs to be more of an ******* on the court.

Totally agree. He has no killer instinct...absolutely none. Too bad it's not something you can teach or learn through video games...

 

[billyshelby]

I mean he still is only 1 of 5 players this season to be averaging 15/5/5 (LeBron, Durant, Westbrook, Hayward, and Carter-Williams) it's just his shooting has been awful.

There are only 19 players in the NBA averaging more minutes than Hayward. Only 6 shooting guards, 4 small forwards. 15/5/5 is inflated by that. Playing less minutes (as he should) on a team with more talent, he wouldn't have the same numbers.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

There are only 19 players in the NBA averaging more minutes than Hayward. Only 6 shooting guards, 4 small forwards. 15/5/5 is inflated by that. Playing less minutes (as he should) on a team with more talent, he wouldn't have the same numbers.

lol

 

[spycam1]

I like Hayward, but he's not the savior of this team, by any means. He'll be a great glue guy/3rd option, if we can just get our hands on that #1 guy.

 

[MDAV28]

I like Hayward, but he's not the savior of this team, by any means. He'll be a great glue guy/3rd option, if we can just get our hands on that #1 guy.

I think the problem is that we may be in a situation this offseason where we have to pay him like a #1 guy. We may never see him as a glue guy/3rd option.

Right now, we just don't really know what he will be offered. Maybe this season of awful shooting is a blessing because teams will not risk offering him too big of deal allowing us to lock him up. Hopefully we are all right about the shooting problem being that he was forced into a #1 role that isn't where he belongs.

I keep relating DeMar Derozan's extension (4 years, $40 million) to what I would expect Hayward's offers to be like. DeMar signed the extension last offseason and you could say Hayward's '12-'13 was similar if not better than his '12-'13. With Hayward's value dropping this season, logic says he shouldn't get a bigger contract than DeRozan but free agency will probably jack up the price.

 

[Beantown]

This just proves my theory:


Hayward=AK47

Does a lot of nice little things, all around good player, not worth big money.

 

[GVC]

I keep relating DeMar Derozan's extension (4 years, $40 million) to what I would expect Hayward's offers to be like. DeMar signed the extension last offseason and you could say Hayward's '12-'13 was similar if not better than his '12-'13. With Hayward's value dropping this season, logic says he shouldn't get a bigger contract than DeRozan but free agency will probably jack up the price.

DeMar signed his 4-year $38 million extension in October of 2012.

Hayward has always been terrible with the ball in his hands. This season is showing that he's not a perimeter stopper either. On a team with elite talent filling key roles (offensive hub (2 or 3 of these), rim protector, perimeter stopper...roles Hayward is completely incapable of filling), Hayward is arguably less valuable than a dude who can consistently knock down open 3s (unless Hayward figures out how to do this again). Reliable shooters frequently can be signed for less than the MLE. Anythign more than $8mm for Hayward would be a mistake (and there's a good chance that's far too much).

 

[GVC]

This just proves my theory:


Hayward=AK47

Does a lot of nice little things, all around good player, not worth big money.

AK was a smarter player, and a much better defender. Hayward isn't the difference maker AK was.