Gordon Hayward Signs Four-Year, $120M Deal With Hornets

After the gruesome leg injury Gordon Hayward had on opening day of the 2017-18 NBA season, there were a lot of questions about if the former All-Star would be the same player and if he was still worth a max contract. The Boston Celtics certainly did not think and with his role likely to diminish with Boston, Gordon Hayward opted out of his contract and decided to sign with the Charlotte Hornets— who had pursued him during 2017 free agency. 

Charlotte is a young team on the rise that has not had much of an identity over the last few years, but a lot of valuable, youthful assets to build around for future years to come. After drafting LaMelo Ball No. 3 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft the Hornets want to win now, which is why they spent the money they did on Gordon Hayward. 

Hayward is coming off a 2019-20 campaign in which he averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 50% from the floor. Last season was Hayward’s best season with the Celtics by far, but definitely not worth a $30M/year contract like he just got with Charlotte. Not only has he suffered some major injuries over the years, but is not the dynamic scorer he once was with Utah. 

With the way teams guarded him a season ago, it seems like many around the league do not view him as the threat he once was and do not have to give him as much attention as others on the court. To put it in perspective of how much Gordon Hayward will be making next season, he will be getting paid more than Giannis Antetokounmpo ($27.5M), Rudy Gobert ($26.5M), Jrue Holiday ($26.1M) and Nikola Vucevic ($26M). All four of these players have put up better numbers than Hayward over the years in bigger roles with their teams. Giving Gordon Hayward $120M over the next four years is extremely generous by the Charlotte Hornets and at the same time, not too smart.

Financially, Gordon Hayward is one of their max contracts on the roster now and their roster is not a contender in the Eastern Conference. They will have to bring in at least one more All-Star caliber talent to even be talked about as a playoff team in the Eastern Conference and with not much money to spend over the next few years due to Hayward’s contract, the Charlotte Hornets better out-perform expectations or they are in big financial trouble.