RealGM

Now that we acquired Jefferson, how do you feel about our drafting of Gordon Hayward? I'm not gonna lie When we drafted him I was a detractor. I feel a little bit better now, but to be honest I still think at 9 we shouldve drafted someone else, maybe Xavier Henry or a few other players I think will be better. So in retrospect if you had to pick over would you pick Gordo or someone else?

I was seriously pissed when we drafted him. I was just staring at the TV blankly.

Not now with big Al, and Raja I love where this team is headed.

I think Hayward fits in very well with this roster, I think his size, passing and ball handling are legit assets, and I am holding out hope that is shooting turns into a big plus also.

Basically...

Everything that has happened so far makes me wonder if the Jazz knew all along that they would pick up Al. If you know this, then a Hayward type player is exactly who this team needed. I may have still gone with Henry over him, but I still really like the pick, and hope for him to turn out to be a Korver type shooter with more height and handles to get to the rim and flush a few. He could be a star in this system, much like Wesley was.

They did say Al was on top of Deron's wish list. Wonder if that was before or after knowing Boozer would go to Chicago.

Well, what it really comes down to is how good of a player he will be. I mean, in the short term, you look at the position he plays and what he can potentially bring to the table skill wise and how it fits with this team. But that is just a product of being too much in the moment. Every draft pick is measured first and foremost according to how good the player actually becomes, and the slight differences in draft stock on the night of the draft are nothing more than artificial constructs to give us a false sense of confidence. My disappointment in his selection was that I didn't think he was a good prospect and didn't think he would have a chance to be a really good player in the pros. So, if that's the case, it doesn't matter for **** if we got a big guy in FA or whatever, because we still wasted a top 10 pick. But if he pans out and performs as well as KOC seems to think he will, then I wouldn't have regretted it anyways.

Basically, I don't feel any different today than I did before. Ed Davis was still a nice prospect and Cole Aldrich could still be a good 3rd big guy for us. I do, however, feel a little better about Hayward having seen him move around on the SL court. He seems to be a different type of player than I expected, and if he can develop into an elite shooter, I see enough there that he might become a bonafide star. Still, I am skeptical and would change the selection if I could.

Now that we have addressed our size issue, I think the Hayward pick is solid. After seeing him in SL I think it is possible that he was the BPA and I think he brings more to the table than I saw from him in college.

I'm still a bit worried about his ceiling. Especially since we lost two future first rounders. I would have preferred someone with star potential, even if that meant bust potential.

Anybody know how Ante Tomec is doing? I hear the soonest we can get him over is summer 2011.

Hayward is a team guy. He can bust his ass on D and bring his best on O. I think he can be a really good player in this league, but the examples of Luke Walton, Luke Jakson and Adam Morrison scare me off.

My gut still tells me Davis or Sanders were the right picks. I would have drafted Sanders for sure; he was a far better option if you want to reach at 9. Haywood pick felt bad at the time, and still feels bad.
But in the end erudite is right. It all goes down to how will GH actually play the NBA game (not SL game).
As for how offseason has gone, it's pretty obvious KOC had things in the making for quite some time... kudos for him.

Xavier Henry is sitting out the summer league because of a contract dispute. The NBA has slotted salary so there is nothing to dispute. I don't think he has a great attitude.

Ante Tomic can come over next year with a buyout in his contract. However unless he lights up the Euro leagues I don't think the Jazz would commit too much money to him so he may not come over.

Great pick, especially in light of other moves. Just goes to show that we all need to chill the **** out sometimes, because we aren't privy to what goes into FO decision-making. We thought we were overloaded at the swing position, but that changed in a hurry when Kyle and Wes left. I'm excited to see this kid on the court; I think he'll flourish under Jerry.

I think the Jazz really haven't gotten somebody with Hayward's potential in a very long time. Personally, I am not too bummed about the two 1st rounders they sent out for Jefferson. Neither pick will likely end up being anywhere near the top 10. Mid to late 20 first rounders very rarely amount to anything (for every team, not just for the Jazz). It's like they said, they traded Jefferson for a lump of coal.

I was happy about the pick on draft day and I'm still happy about the pick today nothing has changed.

Hayward has the skills of a point forward. He can dribble the ball,pass the ball, handle the ball,shoot the ball, get to the foul line, attack the rim, play defense and he's such a smart player not to mention he has great size for his position and he's more athletic then he's given credit for. I just love everything he brought to Butler in college and everything he has the potential to bring to Utah.

Im still not sold on the draft pick, but am hopeful the kid could turn into something great. Now we just need Sloan to give him some playing time.

When you consider the 2 choices I felt were more obvious was Aldrich and Davis, those aren't needs anymore. Had they drafted Paul George I still would have been WTF at the time.

Wouldn't you agree a Paul George pick would have generated less of a WTF than Hayward?

Only from people who were only concerned about appearances.