This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Almost five years ago to the day, Gordon Hayward was asked a question — the same question he was asked on Monday night — that still awaits an answer in the absolute affirmative, an answer that would give the Jazz one of the significant things they lack as presently constituted.
Can you become an NBA All-Star?
His answer now, though tempered by a hundred worn-through Nikes and 4,000 more hours in the gym and 40,000 trips up and down the floor and countless pounds lifted in the weight room, not to mention the load of competitive responsibility carried on his back, was almost identical to his answer then.
Yes, he said. Yes, he can.
"It's definitely a goal for me. Something I want. You write down your goals and that's one of them."
The savvy gained since his early seasons added a couple more sentences to the response: "We just have to win games. We have a lot of players who deserve a lot of accolades. You have to have the wins for those things to come."
That answer then rolls into the classic which-comes-first question … does the All-Star make the winning or does the winning make the All-Star?
Both are true.
The Jazz need a star, a star to lead their collection of young players and old, and everybody knows it, nobody more than Hayward. He's been thinking on that since the start of his time in Utah, working to become what many doubted he'd ever be — a player of prominence. Since being drafted by the Jazz in June of 2010, on a night when the 5,000 people on hand at the arena lustily booed his selection via the ninth overall pick, prompting then-general manager Kevin O'Connor to say into a microphone, "I hope you're not booing in two years," Hayward has diligently gone at and after his craft.
He's worked on his shooting, on his scoring, on his ball-handling, on his rebounding, on his passing, on his durability and strength. That night he was drafted he weighed 207 pounds. Now, he's 226. He's lifted career averages of 14.7 points, 3.4 assists and four rebounds to this season, after fighting through a fractured finger, to 22.5 points, four assists and seven rebounds. His Player Efficiency Rating currently sits at 22.12.
That advancement was evident a year ago, when Hayward scored 19.7 points, and the year before, when he averaged 19.3, in addition to the other evidences of his wonderfully complete game, which includes strong defensive capability.
If there has been a knock on Hayward, it's been a lack of consistency, at times, and a tendency to turn the ball over on important possessions, as he's tried to be all things and do too much, particularly at the end of games.
A counter to that is this: Through the bulk of his career with the Jazz, Hayward hasn't had a whole lot of help. He's had other young players who are attempting to emerge along with him, and sometimes, they've slipped under the waves, leaving the forward with few options other than … himself. That's especially been true at point guard, a spot from which Hayward hasn't gotten the kind of help that could tee up his talents.
George Hill is likely to change that, if the two of them can ever simultaneously heal up their digits — Hayward his swollen ring finger and Hill his sprained thumb. The two players out of Indiana will boost one another, not only by way of Hill setting up Hayward, but of Hayward setting up Hill. And not just by sharing the ball between them, but by providing another option, particularly in the crunch, with which opposing defenses must concern themselves.
That kind of diversity, alongside the ongoing development of Rodney Hood and Trey Lyles and Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors and Dante Exum, with the additions of the other veterans — Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw — will help.
Hayward is at the center of everything.
His All-Star-ness is the gravitational force that can pull the Jazz into the playoffs. And since returning from the aforementioned broken finger, Hayward has had point totals of 28, 20, 29, 20 and 25 before having an off night — 13 points on 4-for-14 shooting — against Memphis on Monday.
"I know what I need to be and tonight I wasn't that," he said. "You're going to have nights like that when you're just trying to fight through it the best you can."
If Hayward didn't get or provide much help against the Grizzlies, his coach and teammates helped him answer the All-Star question afterward.
"If he keeps putting in the work, everything will fall into place for him," said Joe Johnson, something of an expert on the subject, since he formerly was an All-Star seven times. "But it's going to have a lot to do with what we do as a team. That's just kind of how you get judged. His numbers are going to be there. He's going to put up monster numbers."
Said Quin Snyder: "He's been our heart and soul. I can't say enough about what Gordon's been doing. He takes losses hard. He'll be upset with himself because he wasn't making his shot [Monday night], but he's been terrific. He's been doing it in every way. He's been doing it on the boards, he's been doing it shooting, he's been doing it driving. He's become a special player."
Is he an All-Star?
"When I look at him, what he's doing on the court, that's the way I perceive him," Snyder said. "He's a player who's on that level."
Johnson agreed, again.
"There's no question about his talent," he said. "He's got that. But it's hard. In this league, there are no shortcuts to becoming an All-Star."
Five years and 40,000 trips later, Hayward is more than fully aware.
GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on the Zone Sports Network, 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.