NBA Rankings: Top 10 small forwards for 2014-15
6. Gordon Hayward:
2013-14 Stat Line: 77 games, 36.4 MPG, 16.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, .413/.304/.816 shooting, 16.2 PER
Like I said, in a vacuum I might be inclined to pick Chandler Parsons over Gordon Hayward, but since Hayward will likely be the best player on the Utah Jazz once again in 2014-15, he gets the nod at No. 6. Hayward’s stat line shows he’s a more well-rounded player, and that’s before you consider he’s a much better wing defender than Parsons is. Hayward was one of five players to average at least 16 points, five assists and five rebounds per game last season. The other four? LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Michael Carter-Williams. Pretty elite company.
Hayward isn’t perfect by any means. He shot the ball pretty poorly from downtown last season (30 percent), though part of that comes with the added responsibility of being a leader on offense for a team full of young players. It was only a season ago that Hayward shot nearly 42 percent from behind the three-point line on 3.4 attempts per game. If he can harness that accuracy and leave last season’s shooting woes behind him, he’s an easy pick over Parsons.
But even if he struggles once again from three-point range, Hayward has enough weapons in his arsenal to make up for it. He’s not as good a shooter as Parsons by any stretch of the imagination, but he can attack the basket, he grabs more rebounds and he’s much better at setting up teammates. Hayward’s high basketball IQ is impressive for only being 24 years and there’s a reason the Jazz chose to overpay and make sure he remains a vital part of their rebuilding process.