After nabbing the fifth seed in the West despite dealing with several injuries throughout the regular season, then going on to win their first-round playoff series, the Utah Jazz appeared to be a team on the rise. Their return to the playoffs felt far overdue and their success in 2016-17 seemed to be only the tip of the iceberg for them as a bright future was clearly in store.
However, that bright future was largely contingent on the continued play and improvement of Gordon Hayward who had a breakout season last year after hovering just beneath All-Star caliber play.