Now, ex-Jazz teammate Trevor Booker, who left Utah for the Brooklyn Nets in unrestricted free agency last summer, felt the need to interpret the reasoning behind Hayward’s exit for him, even though the 27-year-old did well to explain it himself on deadline in
a 2,000-word column for The Players’ Tribune.
“Gordon’s a guy who doesn’t really want to be the man. … I’m not sure he wanted a franchise on his shoulders. Gordon’s a great player, and one of the best players in the league. But I wasn’t really surprised at his choice. I heard the rumors.”
Those comments reflect what Booker told HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy with less zing two days earlier:
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised he left. When I was there, I heard rumors — I don’t know how true they were — but I heard rumors about him wanting to leave. Boston picked up a tremendous player. Gordon can really play. I still think he’s one of the most underrated players in the NBA. He can really hoop, but I wasn’t surprised to see him go. I was hoping he would’ve stayed, because the Jazz were already legit, and with everybody growing around him, they could’ve really made some noise.
“But I’m not sure if he wanted to be that star with all the pressure on his shoulders. So, I think that might’ve had something to do with him going to Boston, where he can rely on Isaiah Thomas and whoever else to back him up and take that pressure off his shoulders. Maybe Isaiah, because he’s a superstar, where in Utah, he’s playing in the Western Conference, and it was a little bit tougher.”