Reports: Thunder finalizing trade to acquire Gordon Hayward from Hornets
The Oklahoma City Thunder are finalizing a trade to acquire veteran forward Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets, The Athletic's Shams Charania and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski report.
Per Wojnarowski, the Thunder will send guard Tre Mann, forward Dāvis Bertāns, guard Vasilije Micić and unspecified draft compensation to the Hornets in return.
In a separate deal, the Hornets are reportedly trading P.J. Washington and two second-round picks to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Seth Curry, Grant Williams and a top-two protected first-round draft pick. Details of that trade can be found here. The Hornets are also reportedly waiving forward James Bougknight, a 2021 lottery pick who's averaged 3.6 points in 14 appearances this season.
The trade deadline moves on Thursday arrive after the Hornets dealt starting guard Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat in January for Kyle Lowry and a first-round draft pick.
Hayward, 33, has missed the last 22 games with a calf strain. The Hornets have recently listed Hayward as questionable, but he hasn't played since Dec. 26. That he was on the trade block could explain why they were conservative in their decision to activate him.
If healthy, Hayward will provide the Thunder with a versatile option on the wing on a team that enters Thursday in a three-way tie with the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves for the best record (35-16) in the Western Conference. A former All-Star, Hayward averaged 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 46.8% from the floor and 36.1% from 3-point distance in 25 games this season.
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Hayward's on the final year of a four-year, $120 million contract he signed to join the Hornets as a free agent prior to the 2020-21 season. He's slated to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Injuries limited Hayward for his entire tenure in Charlotte, where he never played more than 50 games in a single season.
Hayward has played more than 52 games just once since a devastating fractured tibia suffered in his first game with the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the 2017-18 season cost him the rest of the season. The Celtics had just signed Hayward as a high-profile free agent after he made his first and only All-Star Game as a member of the Utah Jazz.
The deal amounts to a low-cost acquisition for the Thunder, who part with three players who saw limited action this season. Mann has averaged 3.8 points in 9.2 minutes per game in 13 appearances this season. Bertāns has averaged 2.9 points in 6.1 minutes per game in 15 appearances. Micić has averaged 3.3 points and 2.5 assists in 12 minutes per game over 30 appearances.
At 10-40, the Hornets are in 13th place in the East and well out of the playoff race.
