Rudy Gobert has joined the growing fracas of people trying to lure Gordon Hayward to their respective teams in free agency. The Utah Jazz center says Hayward belongs in Salt Lake City, and he’s got the texting skills to prove it. Gobert was short and simple in a six-emoji tweet that called out two big free agent landing spots for Hayward, while stressing his Jazz can build a winning team in Utah.
https://twitter.com/rudygobert27/status/881336694753984512
Translation: Miami is garbage. The Celtics are poop. And the Jazz can win a title if Hayward stays.
It’s a cute message, but Utah has done a lot more than just sent a few emojis in a tweet to lure Hayward to come back to Utah. They’ve traded for Ricky Rubio and on Saturday signed Joe Ingels, who is said to be Hayward’s best friend on the Jazz.
Whether that’s enough to keep Hayward from the beaches of Miami or the streets of Boston is anybody’s guess, but it’s safe to say Gobert and Ingels know Hayward better than anyone. Free agency is a strange time for everyone, with interpersonal relationships put up against professional aspirations and the desire for the almighty dollar. But at least Gobert knows how to keep things interesting.
