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The Jazz's pursuit of Gordon Hayward's happiness is successful, so far.

This story is subject to daily updates for the next seven or eight months, and he knows it. Hayward laughed good-naturedly — a good sign? — during the team's Media Day interviews Monday when I asked if he realized we would spend the entire 2016-17 season trying to gauge his satisfaction with the Jazz's progress.

This is not the first time in this decade when Jazz observers have engaged in such a quest, attempting to judge every facial expression and analyze every comment in hopes of divining a cornerstone player's future with the franchise. Hayward can opt out of his contract after the season and become a free agent.

We all went through this process with Deron Williams in the 2010-11 season, when the countdown clock toward his free agency was just starting to tick.

"Good luck," Williams told me then.

That became what looked to be a two-season vigil, with Williams not eligible to depart on his own until 2012. The Jazz shortened the D-Will Watch by trading him to the Nets in February 2011.

In any case, Williams was fairly easy to read, with his outspoken nature and visibly changing moods. At that media day, he spoke approvingly of the changes that had brought Al Jefferson and others to Utah. "I thought management did a great job. … I know they're committed to winning," Williams said then.

Hayward, six years later? Happy. Actually, that should be "really happy," about the arrival of veterans Joe Johnson, George Hill and Boris Diaw.

Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey "did a tremendous job of getting those guys for us," said Hayward, who had discussed the team's needs with Lindsey and coach Quin Snyder during the Jazz's exit interviews in April.

"Being involved in that process a little bit … I'm just really happy with the moves that they made," said Hayward, who spent the offseason in Salt Lake for the first time.

So that's happy — plus an encouraging adverb.

Lindsey's (and Hayward's, presumably) offseason checklist included "experience, size, skill, physicality, shooting and passing." The Johnson/Hill/Diaw composite character brings all of that, plus the ability to blend in well with the Jazz — especially with Hill and Diaw having experience in the San Antonio Spurs culture that Lindsey and Snyder are trying to create here.

"I'm looking forward to learning from them," Hayward said, in another endorsement.

So here we are, in late September, and this subject will become a continuing theme. It all works together: The more the Jazz improve, the better the chances of Hayward's wanting to stay on board. And he's critical to this whole operation.

In July, The Tribune staff named Hayward the Most Influential Person in Utah Sports. Good thing no trophy comes with that distinction, because it would have required a long inscription.

The logic? Hayward remains central to the Jazz's building project, which would take a major hit if he leaves next summer via free agency. So the Jazz have to impress him this season, making him believe there's genuine potential for a franchise with exactly zero victories in playoff games in his six-year career.

That number should change in April, when the Jazz have made a significant move in the Western Conference standings after finishing below the playoff cut four seasons in a row. They'll be good enough that they might even win a playoff series — not merely a game.

But that's getting ahead of the story. The Hayward Happiness Index awarded the Jazz a victory Monday. That's all anyone could want, before training camp starts.

Twitter: @tribkurt