Utah junior-high class sends Hayward letters asking him to stay

Utah Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward is expected to opt into free agency in the next few days. Should Hayward choose to leave the Jazz, his decision will crush the franchise - and break the hearts of some of its youngest fans.

Hoping to avoid such a fate, a class of seventh and eighth graders from a junior high in Tooele, Utah sent Hayward hand-written letters urging him to stay with the organization that drafted him in 2010.

The letters were shared on the Instagram account of Hayward's wife, Robyn Hayward.