Tag: Gordon Hayward

Gordon Hayward trade grades: Who won the Hornets – Thunder deal?

An intriguing trade for the Thunder. We handed out some grades.

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:

Report: Thunder acquire Gordon Hayward from Hornets

Report: Thunder acquire Gordon Hayward from Hornets.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have acquired veteran forward Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, Davis Bertans and two second-round picks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The two second-round picks are in 2024 via the Houston Rockets and 2025 via the Philadelphia 76ers. The Thunder also sent out cash considerations to the Hornets.

This is a nice deal for OKC. It doesn’t give up anything serious: Mann and Bertans seldom played this season. Meanwhile, Hayward has an expiring $31.5 million salary, so there’s no long-term commitment.

In 25 games, Hayward has averaged 14.5 points on 48.6% shooting, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He’s shot 36.1% from 3 on 2.4 attempts. Nearly all of his 3-pointers resulted in assists (95.5%), so he’ll be a nice catch-and-shoot option for OKC.

Health is an issue. He hasn’t played since Dec. 26, but Hayward is inching closer to a return. He was recently began to be designated as questionable for the Hornets.

The Thunder can afford to be cautious with the 33-year-old. They’ll likely ask him to be a backup wing off the bench who can score. His immense playoff experience is a valuable commodity for the young Thunder.

Meanwhile, Mann gets a fresh start and has the next 1 1/2 seasons to earn a second NBA deal. In three seasons, he’s averaging 8.5 points on 39.7% shooting, 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

Editor’s note: This article was updated following the announcement of Micic and draft compensation to the deal. It was originally reported as just Mann and Bertans.

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Ranking the top 5 Thunder targets ahead of trade deadline

Ranking the top 5 Thunder targets ahead of trade deadline.

The NBA trade deadline is a little over a day away, which means the Oklahoma City Thunder could soon welcome new additions to their roster.

The Thunder (35-16) are in the thick of the race for the first seed as the All-Star break approaches. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played like an MVP candidate; Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams help carve out an impressive trio.

This means this will be the first deadline OKC will be viewed as buyers in quite some time as it prepares for its first playoffs since 2020.

Odds are, the Thunder won’t make any drastic moves to the roster by Feb. 8. If OKC makes a deal, it’ll likely be to strengthen its depth and help fix some of its rebounding woes.

Entering the deadline, the Thunder are wealthy in trade capital — they have several young prospects they could trade along with an unending supply of draft picks.

If the Thunder wanted to, they could outbid anybody in the league for someone’s services.

Thunder Wire is ranking the top five trade targets for the Thunder as the trade deadline approaches:

4 trade targets Thunder should look into ahead of NBA trade deadline

4 trade targets the Thunder should look into ahead of trade deadline.

As the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline creeps closer, expect the Oklahoma City Thunder to be potential buyers for the first time in years.

After spending the last three seasons rebuilding, OKC has busted open a contention window this year with a 23-11 record led by the young trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

Even though the Thunder will make the playoffs for the first time since 2020, don’t expect any seismic in-season trades by according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The NBA insider detailed that OKC will likely ride it out with this group but could look to make improvements on the margin.

To prepare for the trade deadline, let’s look at four Thunder targets who’d make sense as short-term commitments that could improve their depth without giving up serious trade capital.

The remaining active NBA players from each draft class between 2003 and 2010

It is truly remarkable that LeBron is still playing as well as he does.

With each passing season, more and more players in the previous generation of the NBA are graduating into retirement.

Some of the most recognizable and dominant players of a beloved era (e.g. Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, etc.) have recently ended their professional playing careers.

As the league begins to look increasingly different every year, we decided to look at which players drafted before 2011 are still active in the league. There are only 30 players who fit those qualifications and only 19 have started more than one game this season.

Here is a look at each NBA draft class and who remains active years later.

All data is provided via Stathead and is accurate as of publishing.

On Gordon Hayward’s indictment of the 2018-19 Boston Celtics

Despite reaching the second round, Hayward acknowledged that the team never truly came together, and various players-only meetings failed to address the underlying issues.

Former Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, in a recent podcast appearance with Paul George on the latter’s “Podcast P” show, shared his insights into the unexpected struggles of the 2018-19 Celtics. Specifically, the Butler alum pointed out that the team faced challenges due to individual agendas overshadowing the collective goal of winning a championship.

Despite reaching the second round, Hayward acknowledged that the team never truly came together, and various players-only meetings failed to address the underlying issues. The Celtics’ season is remembered as a disappointment given how stacked the team seemed to be on paper, beset with internal conflicts and a lack of cohesion.

NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg joined Tom Giles and Michael Holley on “Boston Sports Tonight” recently to talk the failed season for Hayward et al. over; check it in the clip embedded below!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Boston alum Gordon Hayward on his growing love for chess

Nikola Jokic is evidently a favorite opponent in the game Hayward has gravitated towards since he has gotten older.

By now, fans of the Boston Celtics have heard or read former Boston star forward Gordon Hayward’s take on why the 2018-19 Celtics squad performed so poorly as a unit despite being so talented on paper. But in the same interview with Los Angeles Clippers star and sometimes podcaster Paul George on his “Podcast P” show, Hayward also revealed a new facet of his usually reserved personality.

Known off the court for his love of gaming, the Butler alum let it slip that he has found a new passion in terms of his game of choice recently. That is, if you can call the ancient game of chess “new” in any meaningful sense.

Denver Nuggets star big man Nikola Jokic is evidently a favorite opponent in the game Hayward has gravitated towards since he has gotten older.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear more about his appreciation for chess, his time in Boston, and more.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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‘We all had too many agendas’: Gordon Hayward on why the 2018-19 Boston Celtics flopped

“Not to blame anyone either because I think it was all human nature,” said the Butler alum.

The 2018-19 Boston Celtics were a stacked team on paper, but instead became an object lesson on why the games need to be played before one can truly anoint a ball club as elite.

For one thing, fit matters. So does health and chemistry. Even personal goals of the individual players comprising the team, and in the case of a Celtics squad led by Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, and Al Horford with two up-and-coming wings in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, quite a bit of the factors needed for a successful season did not align, as Hayward himself admitted on a recent episode of Paul George’s “Podcast P” show.

“In my eyes, it was just, we all had too many agendas, and the agenda to win the whole thing was not the main one,” said Hayward via Heavy’s Matt John.

Who was the Celtics’ highest-paid player in each of the past 30 seasons?

Celtics Wire compiles the highest salary on Boston’s roster for each season since 1993-94.

The Boston Celtics rank among the most storied professional sports franchises in the world. With 17 NBA championships, the Celtics also have carved out a distinct place in the annals of basketball history.

Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jayson Tatum are some of the franchise’s most notable players in recent decades, and it’s intriguing to look back at the Celtics’ year-by-year salary history to see how those players were valued financially in their prime.

Below, we identify the highest-paid player on the Celtics roster for each season since 1990-91.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 20

Today’s installment focuses on the 31 players who wore No. 20 over the years as of August 2023.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the 31 players who wore No. 20 over the years as of August 2023.