The Utah Jazz did everything they possibly could and it still wasn’t enough.

That’s become the life of small/mid-market NBA teams nowadays as half the league has become a glorified farm system as star players bolt to big-market teams.

A year after Kevin Durant left The Oklahoma City Thunder high and dry, Gordon Hayward did the same as he announced his decision to sign a four-year deal with the Boston Celtics via a blog post on The Players’ Tribune Tuesday.

Hayward’s decision was a significant blow to the Jazz as the 27-year-old was the only All-Star player on the team and was the center of the franchise in which they continued to build the team around after drafting him with the No. 9 pick in 2010. However, while Jazz fans and management have to respect his personal decision, they deserved better.

What Hayward’s decision means for small-market teams 

Hayward’s decision to leave wasn’t necessarily surprising to Jazz fans, but the way it all went down is why fans have become so upset. And can you really blame them?!

After initial reports said Hayward was headed to Boston, his agent, Mark Bartelstein, came out and refuted reports saying, “Gordon hasn’t made a decision yet.”

That, of course, turned out to be PR move so that Hayward could finish writing his blog for the Players’ Tribune to announce his decision.

So not only did Jazz fans have their hearts broken twice in one day, it killed their Fourth of July celebrations as the former Jazzman announced his independence from the Beehive State.

Speaking of timing, Hayward’s prolonged decision, also crushed the Jazz in two ways. With the signing period starting July 1, the Jazz were held hostage waiting for Hayward to inform them of his decision.

The Jazz thought they have a great shot at keeping Hayward and did everything they could to make him happy by bringing in Ricky Rubio and re-signing teammate Joe Ingles.

Instead of going after guys like Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter, JJ Redick, etc. at the start of the free agency period, the Jazz didn’t want to infuriate Hayward by going and getting a player in a move that would look like the franchise was trying to force him out.

So they waited, and waited, and in the end, got nothing in return.

That, of course, sparked outrage as Jazz fans posted videos of burning Hayward’s jersey.

But you won’t see jersey’s burning in Indiana.

The Pacers, another small-market team was in a similar position. Paul George, a four-time All-Star wanted out, but instead of leaving and getting nothing in return next year, George took the high road and informed the Pacers so that the franchise wouldn’t be left high and dry and could at least get some assets in return.

And with the way the NBA is setup nowadays, small market teams face a huge uphill battle. Just at look at what has happened to OKC.

At one point, the Thunder had James Harden, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka all on the same team. OKC did a phenomenal job of drafting superstars. But of those four talented players — three of them which have become All-Stars — only Westbrook remains.

Harden was traded after both sides couldn’t reach an extension. And not wanting him to leave without getting anything in return, the Thunder had to settle for a trade with Houston which got them Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, as well as a couple of draft picks. And we all know what happened to Durant last summer.

Utah’s NBA title hopes

After coming up short against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1997-98 NBA Finals, the Utah Jazz won’t likely ever get that close again with the way the NBA has changed.

With players jumping around and forming super Teams now more than ever, the chances of landing a player like Karl Malone and John Stockton, who don’t care about all the glitch and glamor, is about as close as anyone of us is to winning the lottery.

And unfortunately, that’s likely never going to happen.

And even if the Jazz have an amazing draft run like OKC had, it still wasn’t enough for the Thunder to hold onto its star players.

NBA reporter David Aldridge summed it up best for the Jazz when he wrote on Twitter, “Nothing against the Celtics/Hayward. … “Just feel for Jazz and fans; they built first-rate (organization) from scratch and were just starting to reap the rewards.”

The Jazz did everything right as they added key pieces, brought in one of the top coaches in the league and the fans even went out of there way to make Hayward feel right at home.

But like Jazz fans have seen in the past (Deron Williams, etc.) star players don’t stick around and there isn’t much that they can do.

Hayward’s decision to leave shows that there was nothing the Jazz could have done to keep the All-Star despite investing so much time and resources into developing him. No matter the billboards, the Gatorade dropped off at his doorstep when he got the flu, or any other amount of Jazz fans’ love and support was going to change his mind. No matter how much money the Jazz had, Tuesday’s decision proves that they will never be able to hold onto a star player — at no fault of their own — in today’s NBA world.

And if you need some more proof that the NBA needs changes, just watch this heartfelt video of a young die-hard Jazz fan who knows the Jazz are likely back in rebuilding mode until the NBA can fix the mess it created and help out small-market teams.

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