Stiles Points: The Ship is Sailing on Gordon Hayward

The Oklahoma City Thunder have not gotten enough from Gordon Hayward after the NBA Trade Deadline. While it was a smart gamble, the bet did not pay off.

Apr 3, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Gordon Hayward (33) gets set / Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder went out and traded for Gordon Hayward at the Trade Deadline just a few weeks ago. It was a no-risk and potentially high-reward move. Shipping off Tre Mann, Davis Bertans and Vasilije Micic to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for the former All-Star.

Ideally, Hayward would be a scoring threat off the bench that helps space the floor, doesn't allow the Thunder to go into scoring droughts and plays quality team defense. So far, the 13 year veteran has only checked one of those boxes.

Despite his passing grade on the defensive end, the most head-scratching outcome of all has unfolded: He is not a threat offensively.

So far as a member of the Thunder Hayward is averaging just 4.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and approximately a billion shots passed up. While he is shooting over 50 percent from beyond the arc, the veteran has only pulled the trigger on 24 triples in Oklahoma City.

While there have been flashes of him playing better off the catch and looking to score, they have been few and far between.

As of this moment, Hayward is not producing enough to stay in the rotation. Things have really hit a boiling point in the last two nights where the Thunder lack Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams and still can not rely on Hayward to pitch in offensively.

While there is no harm in letting Hayward play the final six regular season games before you put the kids to bed on the idea of him being an impactful playoff player, you can certainly start warming the milk.

If the offense ever comes around the outlook of Mark Daigneault's postseason rotation changes but at this point there is little reason to believe things will click for the veteran this season.

It was always going to be a challenging task to gel into a new team after not playing for seven weeks, but no one thought it would look like this.

However, this was still a risk worth taking. The cost was a trio of players who would not be able to stay on the floor in the postseason anyway or crack a fully healthy rotation for the Thunder, but is certainly is not paying out as you walk out of the casino.

Stiles Points

• Isaiah Joe was massive off the bench for the Thunder chipping in 13 points and three rebounds against the Boston Celtics. Joe has vastly improved his ability to get to the rim with the ball in his hands and draw more attention as a cutter.
• Josh Giddey continued his impressive month with some fantastic rim finishes in Boston on his way to 17 points, six rebounds and two assists.
• LeBron James and JJ Redick continued to lob praise on the Thunder, specifically their rising star duo of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. James and Redick each shared a belief that Williams is a star.
• Ousmane Dieng opened up about the work he put in this offseason paying off during his second year.
• The Thunder sit as the third seed in the Western Conference, a full game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets who sit tied for the top spot. Denver takes on the L.A. Clippers without Kawhi Leonard on Thursday.

Song of the Day: Time by Pink Floyd.

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