HoopsHype.com Rumors

Dallas Mavericks guard Delonte West has been fined $25,000 for a physical taunt by poking Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz in the ear, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations. The incident occurred with 3:40 remaining in the second quarter of Utah's 123-121 win over Dallas at EnergySolutions Arena on April 16. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

Jody Genessy: Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said the Delonte West incident is still being reviewed by the NBA, as far as he knows. Twitter

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

Utah Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward said he initially felt like ripping Delonte West's finger off and fighting him after he jabbed it into Hayward's right ear during the second quarter of Monday night's triple-overtime win against Dallas. "I wanted to fight right there, but you can't do that," Hayward said before Tuesday's practice. "It wouldn't have been the smart idea. I'd risk getting a technical foul, getting suspended for the season, whatever. There's more important things than fighting someone out on the court. The more important thing was getting the win and we were able to do that." MSNBC.com

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

After reviewing the play on TV, the officials gave West a technical foul but, strangely perhaps, did not eject him for an incident that could have triggered something worse. Said Hayward, "He bumped me and it’s like, ‘O.K., he’s obviously frustrated.’ Then, when he did the second [thing], it’s like, ‘Man, we’ve got him right where we want him.’ Salt Lake Tribune

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

That had to have been the thought running through Jazzman Gordon Hayward’s head Monday night after Dallas’ Delonte West ran his finger through his ear. In one of the most bizarre scenes ever in an NBA game, West, already well-known for his odd behavior, fouled Hayward while the Jazz were on a fastbreak. Seconds later he walked up to the 22-year-old and stuck his finger in his right ear. Ogden Standard-Examiner

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

Hayward stuck both hands in the air and walked away, waiting for referees to respond. Oddly enough, none of the three officials saw the incident, but did call West for a technical foul after reviewing the play. “He had some lint in his hair,” West said after the game. “I was just trying to get it out for him. I was giving him a ‘wet willy’ that’s all.’” Ogden Standard-Examiner

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

West didn’t find anything wrong with his behavior and offered no apologies. “We’re two warriors,” he said. “We’re out here battling on the battlefield. I forgot the NBA is a gentleman’s game so we have to fight and scrap and do it nicely.” Ogden Standard-Examiner

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

Indiana’s Paul George thinks he should have won the dunk contest. The second-year Pacer even told the Indianapolis Star, “(Not to) take nothing away from the dunk contest, (but) it was a joke.” But Gordon Hayward believes the rightful winner was crowned. “I think,” the Indiana native said, “there was no question Jeremy had the best dunk of the night — easily, out of all the other dunks.” Deseret News

Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Paul George, Gordon Hayward, Jeremy Evans 

Hayward admitted controversy is expected when subjectivity is involved in the judging, so he isn’t surprised other competitors believe they should’ve won. Yet … “I think Jeremy’s second dunk was by far the best dunk of the competition,” he reiterated, “so I think he should’ve won.” Deseret News

Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Paul George, Gordon Hayward, Jeremy Evans 

Jody Genessy: Asked if adding Howard might hinder progression of Miles and Hayward, O'Connor said Ws are most important: "Those guys have got to compete." Twitter

Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward, CJ Miles 

The Jazz have an obvious excess buildup in the front court, creating potential for a package deal. In addition, the organization has a possible moveable piece in veteran guard Raja Bell, who did not meet expectations during 2010-11 and has two years remaining on a $6.7-million contract. A source close to Bell said Thursday that Utah hadn't given any indication it's looking to move him, though, and he could be a reliable backup for C.J. Miles or Gordon Hayward if either player claims the open starting shooting guard spot during training camp. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Free Agency, Raja Bell, Gordon Hayward 

Mario Chalmers: MARIO CHALMERS ERIC GORDON, GORDON HAYWARD AND OTHER NBA STARS COMING TO NEW CASTLE FIELDHOUSE IN INDIANAPOLIS NOVEMBER 6TH IT'S GOIN DOWN Twitter

Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward, Mario Chalmers, Eric Gordon 

Mike Wells: Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, Eric Gordon, George Hill, Gordon Hayward, Lance Stephenson and JaJuan Johnson have committed to Indy team. Twitter

Zach Randolph, Gordon Hayward, Lance Stephenson, Mike Conley, Eric Gordon, George Hill, JaJuan Johnson 

Fully healed from minor right Achilles tendinitis: Gordon Hayward: Yeah, I'm full speed now and still working out twice-a-day. I played in the Pro-Am, I played in our last game. Then they actually, Carlos Knox is doing another league, it's called the Lockout League. I'm sure you've heard of Kevin Durant and The Goodman League; the Melo League. Well, we kind of have a similar thing over here: the Lockout League. We're talking about Eric Gordon, Lance Stephenson, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Shelvin Mack — a lot of local guys are playing in that. We play two times a week with that and just played this past Tuesday in that. It went pretty well. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward, Injuries 

Gordon Hayward: I grew up on, the very first video games I started playing was just the NES. Then the Super Nintendo. I had a Sega GameGear. Of course, I had a GameBoy. Then N64. I've had 'em all. Some of those older games, they used to have versions of them on GameBoy or whatever. I definitely played Pac-Man and some of those older games before. I enjoy playing those, sure. … Contra: I always played Contra when I could get it to work. On the original Nintendo you had to blow into the thing a couple times to get it to work. Whenever I could get Contra to work me and my friends were also playing that. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward, Videogames 

Count Gordon Hayward among the NBA players who will join a new league during the lockout. But he's not headed overseas or to Las Vegas. He'll also be playing a different kind of game. The 21-year-old Utah Jazz player has joined a professional video game league with IGN Entertainment. Hayward will compete with other eSports video athletes in a StarCraft II competition from Oct. 6-9 at Caesars Atlantic City in the IGN Pro League. Deseret News

Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward 

Mike Wells: The Indy team is expected to have Eric Gordon, George Hill, Gordon Hayward, Lance Stephenson, Mario Chalmers. Sorry, no LeBron or Melo Twitter

Gordon Hayward, Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, Lockout, Eric Gordon, George Hill 

The NBA has locked its doors. The Jazz’s 2011-12 season is officially on pause. And while many players began the offseason with a bang, diving headfirst into their summer workout routines, some have already begun to scale back as they realize the league’s lockout likely isn’t going to end anytime soon. Not Hayward. The 21-year-old Jazz forward was a workaholic when the work stoppage began and he’s still a workaholic more than a month into the lockout. While the NBA sleeps, Hayward pumps iron. And works on his ball-handling. And conditioning. And everything else that goes into the second-year player’s five-days-a-week workout routine at St. Vincent Sports Performance in his birthplace of Indianapolis. “I’m blessed that they have all these huge facilities here, and the fact that I live here is just another bonus. I can stop by and then my mom is making dinner for me, so it works out well,” said Hayward, who averaged 5.4 points last season while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 47.3 percent from behind the 3-point line in 72 games (17 starts). Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward 

Kevin Ding: Congrats to @Gordon Hayward for what Kobe just said: "He reminds me of a more talented Jeff Hornacek. ... Bright future." Twitter

Utah Jazz, Kobe Bryant, Gordon Hayward, Jeff Hornacek 

Life's little joys, which come few and far between in the cold, harsh reality that is the NBA. Not that Hayward has an iota of remorse over his decision to declare. "I'm 100 percent satisfied with where I am now, and blessed to be here, and haven't looked back,'' he said. "There's nothing like playing against the best competition in the world every day, and there's also nothing like being able to play basketball every day and only worry about basketball. I've been able to come to the gym every day and shoot, and I've never been as good of a shooter as I am now, just because it's what I do. It's my job.'' Yahoo! Sports

Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward