Utah Jazz: Rookie Gordon Hayward has 'a sense of where he is'

MAITLAND, Fla. — Amazon.com's review of "A Sense of Where You Are" calls John McPhee's 1965 biography of former NBA star Bill Bradley "the literary equivalent of a harmonic convergence" between author and subject.

After Utah's opening game at the Orlando Pro Summer League here, well-read assistant coach Scott Layden dropped the reference in suggesting that something about 2010 first-round draft choice Gordon Hayward's presence with the Jazz simply sings.

Hayward, Layden said, has "a feel for the game and a sense of where he is."

On Monday, the swingman out of Butler University — especially late, after an initial slow start — was in a comfort zone.

He wasn't standing high above the rest.

He even had zeroes across his stat line following six first-quarter minutes, a short span in which he got dunked on twice.

And the two guys he was guarding most — Derrick Brown and Gerald Henderson, both bit players for the Charlotte Bobcats last season — did tie for team-high scoring honors with 20 points apiece.

But by the end of an 85-83 Utah loss, Hayward had eight points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block and a healthy feel for the best way to endear himself to head coach Jerry Sloan and the Jazz.

"I'm just trying to do what the coaches wanted me to do," Hayward said.

"Help the team win as many games as possible, hopefully win the championship," he added when asked what he hopes to accomplish this season. "That's what I'm about. I'm about doing whatever I can do help the team win."

That's the Jazz way, and it's why Utah — much to the dismay of its many fans who were hoping to draft a big man — took Hayward at No. 9 overall in the June 24 NBA Draft.

"In Coach Sloan's system … it's necessary that you have a feel for the game and that you know how to play, and clearly Gordon has that," said Layden, the ex-Jazz and New York Knicks general manager. "He knows how to space the floor; he knows how to feed the post; he knows how to use screens.

"I think he's gonna be a player that plays within the system," Layden added. "Clearly he did that at Butler, and that was one of the things I think the Jazz liked."

On Monday, defensive woes notwithstanding, Hayward did several things the Jazz seemed fond of.

Mostly, he merely blended in — and didn't do anything crazy, like jack up bad shots.