This is all too familiar territory for Boston Celtics fans, and that’s what makes it even more tragic. Gordon Hayward, who played for the Celtics from 2017 to 2020, was officially declared out indefinitely by the Charlotte Hornets as he deals with discomfort in his left foot previously sustained by an injury he suffered on February 7th against the Toronto Raptors.
In so doing, Hayward will miss the play-in tournament, meaning that he will miss Charlotte’s potential matchups against the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, or Brooklyn Nets during that time.
This is the second consecutive season in which Hayward suffered a badly-timed injury late in the season that ultimately knocked him out for the rest of it. While last season it played a role in knocking Charlotte out of playoff contention altogether, that technically remains up in the air this season as of now seeing how the Hornets have at least managed well enough to stick around for the play-in.
Hayward’s Bad Injury Luck Continues
As awful as this is to say, getting injured at the worst possible time has been Gordon Hayward’s MO for a while now. Ever since his debut with the Celtics back in 2017, Hayward has missed a total of 172 games combined over the last five seasons. Granted, almost half of that was from missing almost the entirety of the 2017-18 season with a horrifically gruesome leg injury.
Still, it’s not like his luck has gotten much better from there. For the second straight year, Hayward is going to be out when Charlotte needs him most – vying for a playoff spot. That isn’t too far off from what happened in his last year with the Celtics, as he too got injured just as Boston’s playoff run started, then came back too quickly as he was clearly still hampered by his sprained ankle.
The weirdest part is that Hayward was not an injury-prone player prior to signing with Boston five years ago. He was as far from one as could be. The lowest number of games he had ever played in an NBA season prior to 2017 was 66 in 2012. That was the lockout-shortened season and he led the league in games played. In all the other seasons, Hayward played 70+ games for Utah.
It truly feels like Hayward poorly handling his exit from Utah in the summer of 2017 cursed his once-unflinching durability.
Hayward Might Be on the Move This Summer
Even though Gordon Hayward has been productive for Charlotte, his injury-prone tendencies since playing for the Hornets have led to many second-guessing the contract (not that there wasn’t skepticism when he first agreed to it in 2020).
Michael Jordan has some decisions to make this offseason. If the Hornets don’t make the playoffs when it’s all said and done – and the odds aren’t good – it’s not a good look to have paid Gordon Hayward $30+ million on a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since joining the team. To make it worse, Miles Bridges, who made a strong campaign for the Most Improved Player award this season, will be up for an extension this offseason. Not to mention, PJ Washington and LaMelo Ball are not too far behind.
MJ’s never been one to be willing to pay the luxury tax, and that’s especially hard for any owner to do when their team is nowhere near title contention. That’s why Charlotte may look to move Hayward this offseason so to save themselves money for when they (hypothetically) extend the likes of Bridges and Ball.
The Hornets have been named as a potential suitor for Russell Westbrook this summer by Marc Stein in part because his contract expires next season, and Stein mentioned Hayward’s contract, which expires the season after this next one, as the one that could match with Westbrook’s in a potential deal.
If that were to come to fruition, it would be the second time Hayward has been traded in his career – he was signed and traded from Boston to Charlotte – but the first time he would be exchanged for another player.
Former Celtics $128 Million Star to Miss Play-In Tournament: Report