I love Booker's hustle and enthusiasm. But towards the end of last season, I took a lot of heat (and got a few negs) for saying the Jazz needed to replace Booker with someone who could shoot.
1. Let's not blame Booker for the loss last night. He had ONE turnover in 20 minutes. Favors had 5. Hayward, Hood and Gobert all had 3. Jazz had 17 TO's compared to 9 for New Orleans.
2. Hayward was one of the heroes vs. Dallas. But last night he was off again shooting-wise. He went 7/18, including 2/9 on his threes. Overall this season he's pretty "meh," with averages of 43%/35%.
Neg away, everyone, but I STILL maintain it is worth handing the play making reins over to Hood and seeing what we can get for Hayward. It's not a guarantee he even WANTS to stay. And his production just doesn't warrant giving him a contract that would be pretty close to $150M over 5 years. He's not a superstar. He's not even an all-star given his numbers. He's a high-end starter. But I think Utah would be better off with a DWill haul for him instead of likely sacrificing one of the other starters down the road in order to not go over the luxury tax if GH demands a max contract. Or to be left with NOTHING if he signs with a team like Indiana so he can be closer to all his family and his wife's family.