May 2, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2, left) and forward Gordon Hayward (20, right) sit on the bench during the fourth quarter in game one of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Jazz 106-94. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The free agency decision of Utah Jazz All-Star Gordon Hayward has been one of the bigger talking points this offseason. Many believe Hayward’s departure to be a foregone conclusion, but a future in Boston may not be as appealing as many think.

It’s rumor season again! That magical period before free agency and the trade deadline that endlessly entertains the masses and ultimately disappoints most. The fun of it is digesting all the hearsay and speculating wildly and irresponsibly!

Remember the emoji filled battle over DeAndre Jordan’s soul? Or people reporting private jet numbers on runways in Ohio and Miami in order to track Dan Gilbert flying to meet with LeBron? It’s just the best.

Well, I should say it’s fun for everyone but the team the prospective free agent is rumored to leave. Mark Cuban didn’t laugh nearly as much as the rest of us as it was falsely reported that he was driving around begging for DeAndre’s address. Personally, I enjoyed Blake Griffin propping a chair against the door to protect against any intruders.

Don't agree with the furniture layout but I'm not an interior designer. pic.twitter.com/23PNgQB88z — Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin32) July 9, 2015

That being said, the Gordon Hayward rumors are not nearly as entertaining for many Utah Jazz fans. Leaving the season, the buzz surrounding Hayward and the team was everyone wanted to come back. The players all said in their exit interviews they expected him back. Life was good.

Then the Warriors ended everyone’s hopes of parity in the league and doubts began to creep in. Everyone needs a superteam to compete and Hayward is a jack of all trades any contending team would love. Boston winning the Draft Lottery fanned the flames. Then Marc Stein added the Miami Heat to the fray.

Free Agency Scuttle: Volume is rising on the whispers that the team worrying Utah in Gordon Hayward's free agency is Miami as much as Boston — Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 9, 2017

Just as Utah fans paranoia is ramping up to 11, a beautiful Instagram post threw gasoline on the fire.

Forgive them for they know not what they do to the internet pic.twitter.com/PhPgOrFTfk — Angie Treasure (@snark_tank) June 12, 2017

BUT! Not all hope is lost! It is just a coincidence that she was wearing a Saint Patrick’s day shirt in June, right? I mean as a father of a 2 and 4-year-old myself, I hope people don’t judge me too harshly on want they choose to wear. Christmas jammies were just worn the other night in my house. I’ve got your back, Robyn!

Then our own Jared Woodcox douses my enthusiasm with this cold bucket of water.

Utah Jazz Rumors: Boston Celtics now the favorite to land Gordon Hayward https://t.co/s1LXjgWtVA #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/zJBl4I4F2J — Purple & Blues (@PurpleandBlues1) June 13, 2017

But I’m not the pessimist Jared is. (Just kidding, Jared is great!)

Yesterday the podcast formerly known as TrueHoop, The Basketball Analogy, had (among others) Tim McMahon of ESPN on. Tim covered the Jazz this season and was well connected to the team during the George Hill extension talks. He had this to say about the Celtics/Hayward rumors:

“I do hear, this isn’t coming from Hayward’s camp so it’s under the gossip category and not the necessarily reporting category, but I do hear that Hayward has significant concerns about playing with Isaiah Thomas. In other words he wants the ball in his hands, he doesn’t just want to watch Isaiah dribble around and do his thing.”

I’ve long held the opinion that Utah is closer to contending than Boston. My reason is Boston’s future is unknown. They could add Hayward and Markelle Fultz, they could trade for Paul George, they could trade for more picks, they could trade Isaiah Thomas, or he could be out indefinitely with his hip injury. Just recently in a Bill Simmons podcast, he discussed the hip injury Isaiah is dealing with:

That hip injury he has is a real injury, and we haven’t really gotten a lot of information about it since it happened. It seems like he got hurt in mid-March, and then he made it worse during the playoffs. Maybe even two different times. It’s a hip injury, which makes me nervous. There’s a checkered history with this injury. Some people have come back and come back 100 percent; other people haven’t. Like Jonny Flynn, it ended his career, basically. So it makes me think it’s just hard to trade somebody who is probably going to have to go under the knife. Whether it’s like a major surgery or an arthroscopic surgery and it’s six weeks and he’s fine? I don’t know.

No one knows what the next year looks like for Boston let alone the four years they would be signing Hayward up for. On the other hand, Utah has Rudy Gobert locked up long term. Between the All-NBA options for teammates, Hayward fits in seamlessly with Gobert, but even a healthy Isaiah Thomas would take some adjusting to play with.

Additionally, for all the talk about Hayward wanting to play for his former Butler coach, he has played twice as long for Quin Snyder. Any affinity Hayward holds for Brad Stevens can probably be matched with his current relationship.

I won’t be the one to really dive into player legacies, but in Boston, Hayward is another guy. In Utah he gets his #20 in the rafters.

I sent out a text to a friend who works for the Jazz after the season ended Monday night. I said, “The definition of a Jazz fan. So much more invested in the offseason than the playoffs…” He replied, “You got that right.”

If Hayward stays, that statement becomes false, and I’ll never be happier to be wrong.