Jazz's Gordon Hayward: Hopes to return late next week

Hayward (finger) is aiming to make his season debut the end of next week, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports.

Analysis:

Hayward dislocated and fractured his left ring finger in early October and was originally given a recovery timetable of six weeks, so if he indeed ends up returning next week, it would be well ahead of schedule. Given Hayward's long-term value to the franchise, the Jazz probably won't be eager to push him back too quickly, but their thinking could change if the forward acquits himself well in workouts and practices. The forward remains limited to individual workouts for now, so we likely won't have an indication if a return next week is a real possibility until he resumes practicing in full.