Holy crap! I like Matthews as much as the next guy, but I figured what we all liked about him was that he wasn't supposed to be any good and he turned out to be a solid player. To think that Hayward isn't going to be any better than Matthews, I don't know. I think you all are just dumping all your disappointment that we didn't get a top 5 pick on him. The more I hear about him the more excited I am that we got him.
The SOB lead his team to the final 4! What were they ranked going in? How many of you had Butler on your bracket in the final 4?
I'll say it again and again.
WINNERS WIN. HAYWARD IS A WINNER.
Now once we offload the team losers and increase the winner to loser ratio on this team we'll be alright. Deron is a winner. Matthews is a winner. Millsap is a winner. Okur is a loser. Boozer is a loser. CJ Miles is a loser. Hayward is a winner. Things are looking up.
*before anyone wants to show me stats to show me who winners and losers are, save it. Losers are very often people with tremendous talents, who often perform well given the right set of circumstances. Winners are people who might lack the natural ability, are in unfavorable circumstances, but find ways to win. There's a difference between being good at something and doing it well and simply being a person who refuses to lose. Okur can lose and go sleep like a kitten, I'm sure. Boozer can lose and be perfectly happy if he got his numbers that night. CJ Smiles is just happy to be where he is. The other guys fight to win and they take it personally when they lose.
How many national championships has Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Dwight Howard won?
What about Amare, KG, Chris Bosh, D-Wade, Dirk, and CP3?
LOL, just look at the Final Four MVP candidates from last year:
Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, who the hell are these players?
Lets look at some of the stars from 2005-1985 in the NCAA:
https://www.betting-collegebasketball.com/mvp.php
1985
Ed Pinckney, Villanova
14.0
1986
Ellison, Pervis, Louisville
18.0
1987
Keith Smart, Indiana
17.5
1988
Danny Manning, Kansas
28.0
1989
Glen Rice, Michigan
29.5
1990
Anderson Hunt, UNLV
24.5
1991
Christian Laettner, Duke
23.0
1992
Bobby Hurley, Duke
17.5
1993
Donald Williams, N. Carolina
25.0
1994
Corliss Williamson, Arkansas
26.0
1995
Ed O'Bannon, UCLA
22.5
1996
Tony Delk, Kentucky
22.0
1997
Miles Simon, Arizona
27.0
1998
Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky
21.5
1999
Richard Hamilton, Connecticut
25.5
2000
Mateen Cleaves, Michigan St.
14.5
2001
Shane Battier, Duke
21.5
2002
Juan Dixon, Maryland
25.5
2003
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
26.5
2004
Emeka Okafor, Connecticut
21.0
2005
Sean May, North Carolina
I'm willing to bet that most of you don't recognize more than 1/3 of this list.
This "he's a winner because he did well in the NCAA tournament" is completely overrated. HS and College success doesn't mean much of anything in the NBA.