Gordon Hayward has agreed to a four-year, $120 million deal to join the Charlotte Hornets, according to an ESPN report Saturday.
The monster deal punctuates a busy week for Charlotte, which drafted point guard LaMelo Ball at No. 3 overall earlier in the week. Charlotte is coming off a 23-42 campaign and has missed the playoffs for four straight seasons.
David Aldridge of The Athletic reported that Hayward’s deal is fully guaranteed.
Hayward, 30, is coming off a bounce-back season in which he averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 52 games (all starts) with the Boston Celtics. He has averaged 15.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists across his 10-year career, which included seven seasons with the Utah Jazz and the last three seasons with the Celtics.
In Hayward’s first game with Boston, he sustained a gruesome leg injury that cost him the rest of the season. He averaged 11.5 points in a mostly reserve role upon his return in 2018-19 before returning to the starting lineup last season.
Hayward recently turned down his $34.2 million player option to return to the Celtics for a fourth season.
Several teams, including Hayward’s home state Indiana Pacers, were interested in adding him before Charlotte sealed the deal.
–Field Level Media
