Hayward is a Hornet
The Charlotte Hornets have come out of the woodwork to steal Gordon Hayward out of the free agent pool. Hayward has signed to a 4-year, $120 million deal to join the Hornets.
With all of the rumors surrounding Hayward’s apparent departure from Boston. The large rumor was that the 30-year-old wing wanted to play for the Indiana Pacers, as he is from that area. The Pacers and Celtics had been in talks to work out a deal surrounding Indiana big man Myles Turner. There were reports that there was a big gap in what Indiana was willing to give up versus what Boston wanted to get back, so evidently no deal got done. Danny Ainge wanted TJ Warren or Victor Oladipo, but Indiana was offering Doug McDermott. Now it seems like the Celtics lost Hayward for much less.
Now according to Keith Smith, the Hornets don’t have the cap space to take on this large of a contract, so there has to be something else going on. There’s always the possibility of a sign-and-trade with a player coming back to Boston, which would be similar to what happened last year. Just one year removed from Charlotte losing their best player in franchise history, Kemba Walker, to the Boston Celtics, they strike back with a huge blow. The C’s will probably get something back in this “deal” but it will be nothing even close to what Hayward brings to the table in terms of talent.
Whatever the case is, Woj’s tweet sets one thing in stone - Gordon Hayward’s tenure with the Celtics has come to an end. I’ll miss Hayward, as I think he was severely underappreciated in Boston, and now the C’s lost him for nothing. Not a great way to head into next season. I wish Hayward all the best in Charlotte.
