NBA Insider: Suns love Utah’s Gordon Hayward
Nov 21, 2013, 11:39 PM | Updated: 11:49 pm
The Phoenix Suns are only 11 games into their 2013-14 schedule, yet there is so much speculation about what the team will do in the future.
Under new general manager Ryan McDonough, the Suns have re-tooled their roster and put themselves in an enviable position to improve either through the draft (they could have four first-round picks next summer) or through a trade (see the last parenthetical.)
Longtime NBA insider Peter Vecsey tweeted Wednesday night that the Suns already have their eye on a free agent target in 2014.
According to a GM, the Suns will do everything possible this summer to sign Gordon Hayward to an unmatchable offer sheet….
— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) November 21, 2013
Hmm…
Hayward, a fourth-year pro for the Utah Jazz, will be a restricted free agent following the season. The deadline for Utah to extend Hayward’s contract expired October 31, and according to reports, the player’s camp was seeking a deal in the neighborhood of $50 million over four years.
The Jazz drafted Hayward out of Butler ninth overall in 2010, and the 6-foot-8 wing learned under current Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek, who spent three seasons as an assistant in Utah.
Hayward is currently averaging 18.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the woeful Jazz who, at 1-12, sport the NBA’s worst record.
