People want a rebuild but dont have patience to stick it out. This team is right on schedule with the plan.
People who thought we our goal was to win last season were disappointed but the signs were there from the beginning as well as coaches, players and FO personnel telling us that was not the goal and the season would not be judged on W/Ls. That season was about developing and evaluating the core/youth players on this team. If we had signed vets we would not know anything about Lyles since he would not have played. We would know less about Hood and all the fans on here would be crying that he didnt get more playing time. Next season is about W/Ls. The team will sign vets and or make some trades. We will not be concerned about getting very young players lots of minutes to develop because that hurts the team. With the exception of Exum. But I think and the FO thinks he will help us win and is ready now. By far the biggest wrench in last season was Exum getting hurt. Not because we would have won more with him but because we lost out on some development and evaluation. Hopefully the team worked extra hard on his off the court development and we have to take a bigger risk on him now that he was not evaluated as well.
Hayward is unlikely to leave. More money here and if we make the playoffs next year, which we will, he will be satisfied and hungry to win more here. He is making those statements to let the FO know he wants to win this season.
There is 0% chance we trade Hayward for a draft pick. If he privately tells the organization he is not coming back (which has not happened) then at the trade deadline he will be moved for a solid veteran player. At which point we will better know what our needs are. Unless for some reason a big name player becomes available then they would move him. But even then they would try to move other pieces first.
If we traded Hayward for a pick we would be starting another rebuild that would take at least 2-3 years. At that point we should trade everyone on the team since they will all be frustrated and wanting to leave with the exception of maybe Exum and Lyles. If the Jazz are a lottery team for 2-3+ years this team will be moving. Fans like OP (who I love) are not willing to watch this team lose for that much longer and will stop watching and going to games.
Its funny this board would have been completely different had we won a couple more games and made the playoffs. People would have been ecstatic about the future. This season had some bad luck but it doesnt really matter if we had/or hadnt made the playoffs we are still on the right track and have a bright future. We have a top 10 SF, We have a top 10 PF how both could get into top 5 next year, we have the top or close to defensive Center with more potential, we have three players with a good to great upside in Exum, Lyles and Hood. We have decent future picks that we can make moves with. We have a solid off the bench offensive SG with versatility for where he can play and some good trade value if he stays healthy.
Was last season perfect? No. Has the FO made all the right moves? No. With hindisght could be be better? Yes. Does that mean the organization sucks? No. Does that mean we need to quit being fans and move on? That is your choice, I am happy with the team and love the position we put ourselves in.
