Utah Jazz General Manager speaks to media following Hayward loss

Dennis Lindsey addressed the public for the first time since Gordon Hayward’s decision to go to the Boston Celtics yesterday. He made some interesting comments that I thought I would bring up for you Utah Jazz fans who are still closely following the Jazz despite the very disappointing 48 hours. The full interview can be watched here.

1. Twice Dennis referred to the timing of Hayward’s decision as “problematic”. For Dennis to say anything that direct about yesterday showed some clear frustration with how everything went down. It gave the Jazz little to no time to pursue other options, Otto Porter being the prime example. He maintained class and professionalism in his comments on Hayward, but the tension could be felt. He was asked if the 4-5 hours of waiting yesterday were some of the most bizarre of his career: “Bizarre... There’s probably a few adjectives there; I’ll let you guys decide that.” Another question regarding how comfortable he was with the way things were handled: “Um... look that may be a conversation for a later day, how about that?” He also opted to keep private how and when he found out Hayward was as good as gone.
2. “Have you talked to Gordon since he made his decision?”. “We’ve texted.” It appears that most of the communication since Hayward made his decision has been done through texting. His agent made the call about the decision itself, and it would appear that he hasn’t actually talked to Dennis Lindsey. If this is true, his is really disappointing to me. After all the work and investment they put in, the right thing to do would be to at least have a conversation with them with Dennis Lindsey and Quin Snyder.
3. He is very excited about Ricky Rubio. He compares him to Jason Kidd, and thinks he will have a great year. According to their metrics, Rubio was the best defensive point guard 2 seasons ago, and the 5th or 6th best last season. He said Rubio “has something to prove” and they have the goal of being the best defensive team in the NBA.
4. He says there’s no where to run and there’s no where to hide in regards to how good the Western Conference is. He enjoys the process of having to build a team that can compete against the absolute best rather than taking the easy road like a certain former player.

I recommend going back and listening to the full interview. Lindsey is well spoken and he sheds some light into the offseason they and the players have had so far. The Jazz may have lost their 2nd best player, but they also turned Trey Lyles and 2 draft picks into Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell. He’s still got some moves to make, but I have confidence that he’s going to make the best of this situation.