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After a day of constantly refreshing his phone, hoping for good news, and getting bad news instead, Jameson Golding grabbed the basketball jersey he bought for himself half a decade ago, pulled out a lighter and said goodbye.

The fabric burst into flames, as Gordon Hayward's No. 20 went up in smoke.

And what went with it? The last seven years, most of which were spent meticulously building around the small forward? The next seven years, as a franchise tries to regroup from the loss of its All-Star?

"We finally had a glimmer of hope last year," said Golding, a 23-year-old Utah Jazz fan. "Then the main guy we built around left. It's tough."

The 27-year-old's decision to leave the franchise that drafted him in 2010 has left Jazz and its fans reeling, and has perhaps derailed one of the NBA's most promising rebuilding efforts.

Last season, despite numerous injuries to key cogs, the Jazz won 51 games in the regular season, making the postseason for the first time in five years, and winning a playoff series for the first time since 2010.

That wasn't enough to entice Hayward to stay.

So, now what?

Hayward led the Jazz in scoring each of the last four seasons. Last year, he put up 21.9 points per game on 15.8 field goal attempts. The do-everything forward was central to the Jazz's offense, using 27.6 percent of the possessions when he was on the floor.

It would have been next to impossible to replace Hayward's production with any realistic move this summer. But given the timing of his announcement, it has become an even more difficult task.

Cap space

The Jazz would have gone over the salary cap to re-sign Hayward. But his departure does not mean the team suddenly has $30 million extra to spend this summer.

As it stands, the Jazz are right up against the cap. They could trade or waive Boris Diaw and Raul Neto, both of whom have non-guaranteed deals, to free up about $9 million in space. But the team must still sign rookies Donovan Mitchell and Tony Bradley.

If the Jazz can wait on officially signing forward Joe Ingles to his new four-year, $52-million deal, they could create a window in which they have about $13.5 million in cap space. Otherwise, they might be better suited to hit the $99 million cap and keep their mid-level ($8.4 million) and bi-annual ($3.3 million) exceptions.

Free agents

Hayward was one of the most coveted names on the market for a reason, so nearly every other option would have been a downgrade. At this point, however, the market is even thinner.

The Jazz have missed out on their chance at Danilo Gallinari, who is reportedly headed to the Clippers, and had only a brief window to meet with restricted free agent Otto Porter, before he reportedly agreed to a max offer sheet from Brooklyn.

But a few options still remain.

Rudy Gay, an unrestricted free agent, has drawn interest from several teams. At his best, Gay could help Jazz guard Rodney Hood carry the scoring burden on the perimeter in Utah. But beware, the 30-year-old Gay is coming off an Achilles injury that ended his season prematurely.

Meanwhile, the Jazz and free agent forward James Johnson have "mutual interest," according to sources. Johnson, 30, averaged 12.8 points last season, helping key Miami's run after the all-star break. Restricted free agent Tim Hardaway Jr. could also be a Jazz target, according to a source. Hardaway averaged 14.5 points per game and shot 35 percent from 3-point territory during a breakout season for the Hawks.

Trade option?

Hayward's announcement has been made, but he can't sign with the Celtics until July 7. That might leave Jazz general manger Dennis Lindsey time to work a sign-and-trade with Boston. The Celtics need to clear a few million dollars to make room for Hayward's new contract, and could be looking to shed some players.

An ideal scenario for the Jazz, given the circumstances, might include a deal for Jae Crowder. The Celtics wing expressed his displeasure last season when fans at the Garden cheered for Gordon Hayward. Now that Hayward will be wearing a Celtics jersey, where does that leave Crowder?

Publicly, Jazz officials have presented an optimistic front in the wake of Hayward's exit.

"A foundation for success has been established here," team president Steve Starks said in a statement after Hayward's decision to leave for Boston had been announced, "and we remain steadfast in our commitment to bring a championship to Utah."

Lindsey, meanwhile, said he believes the team's young core, including star center Rudy Gobert, and coaching staff will keep the Jazz competitive.

There can be, however, no question that their mission has been made much more difficult.