Patrick Kinahan: Losing star player greatly benefited Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY — Two years ago this week, as the nation chowed down on hot dogs and fireworks lit up the skies, the foundation of the Utah Jazz franchise suffered a severe setback.

One of their own, Gordon Hayward, unceremoniously departed the only NBA organization he had played for, the one that intended to lavish him with generational-changing money and establish him as the centerpiece. For Hayward, though, the Boston Celtics outclassed the Jazz.

Fresh off a 51-win season, highlighted by beating the Los Angeles Clippers in a first-round playoff series, the Jazz thought they took the significant step into a building a championship contender. Hayward’s sloppy exit, which including a shallow goodbye on a website, ruined a perennially joyous day for the Jazz and their fans.

But, as we’ve come to realize, all was not lost on that gloomy day. It does not take much imagination to argue that maybe the Jazz even got lucky when Hayward bolted.

You see, Jazz management learned a painful lesson from the Hayward sweepstakes. Two years later, the team cashed in on that lesson rather handsomely.

At the time, Hayward scheduled three meetings with his potential suitors. The Celtics, along with the Miami Heat, each met with the All-Star forward before the Jazz made their pitch to secure his services. The thinking was: leave a lasting impression that surely would remind Hayward the pursuit of basketball happiness was right there in his backyard. The good intentions crashed on multiple levels.

Because the start of NBA free agency had begun a few days before the meeting with Hayward, the Jazz played the waiting game only to lose out on other players. At that point, team leadership vowed to act quickly in the future.

My goodness, the Jazz took it to a level this week. The result is they have soared well past whatever the expectations were two years ago.

Actually, the Jazz got started well before the free agency period began on the afternoon of June 30 — and it lasted several days after the initial frenzy.

Here we are, in the span of three weeks, the Jazz have gone from a middling playoff team to a serious contender to land in the Western Conference finals. In other words, it is legitimate to talk NBA championship.

Instead of waiting, the Jazz shipped off several reserves and draft picks to the Memphis Grizzlies for Mike Conley. The top-flight point guard provides the 3-point shooting the team desperately needed and has badly lacked since the NBA discovered that three points is more than two points.

On the first day of free agency (which almost sounds like the beginning of a Christmas song) the Jazz signed another long-range sharpshooter in Bojan Bogdanovic. In the ensuing days, they strengthened the bench by adding center Ed Davis, forward Jeff Green and point guard Emmanuel Mudiay.

Just like that, the franchise enjoyed its most productive summer since drafting future Hall of Fame players John Stockton and Karl Malone in consecutive years, starting in 1984. Bold and decisive never looked so good for an organization that was unfairly saddled with a reputation as being an NBA outpost.

And get this: It all came at the expense of a few interchangeable reserves and miscast starters Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio. The collective heists were so good that Jazz front office folk ought to have their most wanted mugs slapped on boards in post offices.

For those upset at losing Favors and Rubio, get over it. Although both were good in the community and fit the so-called Jazz DNA, they play positions that require 3-point shooting ability. Both players will still make millions by playing for teams — Favors with New Orleans, and Rubio in Phoenix — that can utilize their respective talents. This is a win-win all around.

And now, that dark day two years ago seems like light years in the distance.

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