NBA Trade Deadline: Evaluating Gordon Hayward Packages
The Oklahoma City Thunder have the currency of the Trade Deadline. Every year, the price of acquiring veteran help is often centered around second-round picks. The Thunder have a jaw-dropping 20 tradeable second-round picks.
That is where Charlotte Hornets veteran Forward Gordon Hayward comes in. He is one player who would make a lot of sense for the OKC Thunder as a low-risk, high-reward option.
Let's evaluate his fit in Oklahoma City.
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Notable Stats and Skills
This season, Gordon Hayward is averaging 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.6 stocks per game, shooting 46 percent from the floor, 36 percent from beyond the arc, and 76 percent at the charity stripe.
Hayward is due for a jump in efficiency by playing around better players who command attention from opposing defenses. He fits in with the Thunder's playmaking-heavy model and understands how to prepare for big games.
The Brownsburg, Indiana native has been sidelined since Dec. 26 with a calf injury but has been upgraded to questionable ahead of the Hornet's Feb. 7th clash with the Raptors.
Contract Situation
Hayward is in the final year of his four-year $120 million pact and is owed $31.5 million this season. Though, the former Celtic will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
Thunder Fit
The Oklahoma City Thunder could make a Thursday swap for Hayward without giving up any player who logs minutes in Mark Daigneault's rotation. The 33-year-old would be a roster enhancer without the pressure of logging heavy minutes each night.
His ability to space the floor, especially in the construct of this Thunder roster where the attention is entirely off the veteran, would be tremendous for Oklahoma City. The Butler product is also able to still create a bucket for himself in a pinch and can provide a punch that few on the Thunder pine can.
On the offensive end, Hayward thrives in transition, turning in 1.264 points per possession in those chances, knocks down unguarded catch-and-shoot jumpers at a 52.3 percent clip, which he would be in store for more of in Bricktown, and converts at a 634 percent clip at the cup.
He is still athletic enough to be hidden in the Thunder's defensive system, and according to Synergy, he is even an average defender in Charlotte this season.
Hayward has an injury risk, but the reality is that if OKC made this trade with the Hornets and the 6-for-7 forward never logged a minute for the Bricktown boys, it would not even register as a net loss.
The risk of a couple of second-round picks for a scoring uptick for the bench unit far outweighs the potentially lost return on investment on two of twenty future second-round picks.
Hayward has played in 29 playoff games, including his time in Boston, where he was part of a young Celtics group that made multiple deep playoff runs led by 21-year-old Jayson Tatum.
Market Value
Given Hayward's contract situation, injury risk, and the Hornets' current state, Charlotte can not afford to drive a hard bargain in these negotiations. The 13-year veteran can likely be had for a couple of second-round picks and a matching salary. Given the Thunder's luxury of assets and Hayward's experience he can bring to the table, this feels like a match made in Heaven.
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