YESSS WE’RE GETTING ACTUAL DEALS AT THE NBA TRADE DEADLINE!
This one? It may feel minor in some ways (in comparison to others we’ve seen), but it might be more crucial than you think: Gordon Hayward is off to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a young team that’s contending, but who could use a veteran in the rotation as the postseason looms.
Feels like a good fit, right? And there are other reasons why that’s the case as well.
Let’s dive in and hand out some grades for this deal that came with just hours to go before the 2024 NBA trade deadline:
First, the details
The Oklahoma City Thunder are finalizing a trade to send G Tre Mann and F Davis Bertans to the Charlotte Hornets for Gordon Hayward, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/8R72JA5SGR
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2024
THUNDER GET: Gordon Hayward
HORNETS GET: Tre Mann, Davis Bertans, Vasilije Micic, draft compensation
Oklahoma City Thunder
I dig this deal a lot for the Thunder. Sure, Hayward is no longer the really good scorer he once was before his awful knee injury, but he can still get buckets and grab a steal a game on the other end of the court. More valuable is the experience and veteran savvy that will help the Thunder in the postseason.
In other words, the Thunder have a good thing going and needed a player just like Hayward.
GRADE: A
Charlotte Hornets
Bertans doesn’t have a fully-guaranteed contract next year, which is good for creating cap space if they end up waiving him. But they also end up with a young former first-rounder in Mann who has shown flashes of talent here and there.
All in all, the kind of trade you make with an asset like Hayward. It doesn’t move the needle, but it’s fine!
GRADE: B
