Hours before the NBA trade deadline officially closed, the Charlotte Hornets dealt forward Gordon Hayward to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The trade is as follows:

Charlotte Hornets: Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, Davis Bertans, a 2024 second-round pick, and a 2025 second-round pick

Oklahoma City Thunder: Gordon Hayward

For a team with huge draft capital, this deal makes a lot of sense. The Thunder are currently in a three-way tie for first place in the Western Conference and have been looking to add another piece to their potential contending roster.

Hayward has dealt with injuries since the infamous ankle injury he suffered in his Boston Celtics debut game. He is currently dealing with a calf injury as well that has sidelined him for a couple of games. This a risky trade from the Thunder given Hayward’s availability, however, no large assets or core rotational players were given up in the deal.

With the stats listed above, Hayward should fit in very well with the Thunder’s offense. He will most likely be the sixth man on a team that features scorers such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey, and Jalen Williams. Hayward’s versatility should be great, as when on the court at the same time as MVP candidate Gilgeous-Alexander, he will create more room for Gilgeous-Alexander to work in the mid-range, where he has proven to be lethal. When or if coming off the bench, Hayward will provide the Thunder with efficient 3-level scoring and above-average defense, which is much needed for a young Thunder bench.

Even with the Thunder contending, they have the second-youngest roster in the NBA. Hayward will bring a playoff veteran mindset to this young team, as he has been in playoff situations numerous times in his career.

The Hornets also get a decent package in return for a veteran player who deals with injuries. They get Tre Mann and two near-future second-round picks that will at worst give them a little bit more draft capital. The state of the Hornets right now is full-on asset collection mode, and they got somewhat good assets in return for Hayward. In fact, over the last couple of days and weeks they have traded the following players and gotten the following assets in return:

This tweet doesn’t even include the two second-round picks gained from the Hayward trade as well.

All in all, if the Hornets are not looking to compete anytime soon this is a win-win for both teams. The Thunder get the veteran presence they desperately need and the Hornets continue their asset collection as they continue their rebuild.