SALT LAKE CITY — All of us believe that money shouldn’t change people, but this case is an exception. Now that he’s filthy rich, Gordon Hayward had better not be the same.

A change would do Hayward and the Jazz good. Jazz fans demand as much.

“Obviously, he got his payday, man,” said former Jazz star and current broadcaster Thurl Bailey. “Good for him.”

But will it be good for the Jazz?

Hayward’s world — at least professionally — changed the minute the Jazz decided to match the $63 million contract he signed with the Charlotte Hornets last week. Before anything else, he brought a huge responsibility, one that always accompanies every team’s highest-paid player.

No longer can Hayward be the soft-spoken player in the corner of the locker room. The second he put the pen to the paper the bad body language and slumped shoulders became unacceptable.

When times get tough for the Jazz, and they will, from the players’ standpoint the spotlight will shine on Hayward. He’ll need to be the first one to take control.

All last season we heard the noise that being a restricted free agent affected the aw-shucks kid from Indiana. His agent, Mark Bartelstein, said as much, telling the Salt Lake Tribune last week “That’s a lot of pressure. You try to put it out of your mind. You tell yourself it’s out of your mind, but it’s human nature. It’s there in the back of your mind all the time. Now he can go do what he loves to do more than anything in the world: Go play basketball.”

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Jazz match offer; Hayward to get $63M, 4-year deal

The Utah Jazz have matched a four-year, $63 million offer from the Charlotte Hornets to wingman Gordon Hayward.

He ain’t seen nothing yet. The pressure is going to increase $16 million-fold, as in roughly the average annual salary of his new contract.

There were reasons, we were told, that Hayward shot a career low 41 percent from the field last season. Besides his impending free agent status, there was the heavy burden of being the first option on offense, an unfamiliar position brought upon by the departures of Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. And the day after the season ended, Hayward said the then-coach Ty Corbin’s system stymied his ability.

None of that will fly again.

“There’s even more pressure now for him to come out and perform differently,” said Bailey. “He’s got to be a different Gordon Hayward coming into this next season — different attitude, different approach.

“I don’t think he talked much last year. I think you’ve got to see a different guy who’s comfortable, who wants that leadership position, who’s ready to accept that responsibility for wins and losses.”

Bailey, who was the best player on the North Carolina State team that won the national championship in 1984, has no doubt Hayward can transition successfully into a leadership role. He did it in college, leading Butler to within one field goal of a monumental upset over Duke in the title game.

For the Jazz’s sake, Hayward had better man up in every aspect. With the team losing Marvin Williams and Richard Jefferson to free agency, the 24- year-old Hayward can end up being the senior veteran in terms of significant contribution.

“You come from a winning college program and now you’ve got a nice contract in the NBA, that’s a signal that says ‘I’ve got to take more responsibility here. When things aren’t going so well I’ve got to be the one that steps up.’" Bailey said.

Once Hayward gets the leadership part down, the rest will follow. At 6-foot-8, he possesses a rare combination of athletic skill that could make him a premiere NBA player.

The anticipation here is he will live up to the big money. A better eye for talent concurs.

“I know what kind of player Gordon Hayward can be,” Bailey said.

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