In the final hours of the 2024 NBA trade deadline, the Oklahoma City Thunder made a splash.
The Thunder acquired Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets. The deal was praised as a smart move to add a veteran wing who could score off the dribble and off catch-and-shoot chances.
What the Thunder gave up was minimal, too. Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic and Davis Bertans seldom saw playing time in OKC, so there was no real risk of losing someone significant.
Hayward’s expiring salary also cleared $35 million in cap space this summer, which was a fail-safe if he didn’t work out.
The fail-safe was required. Hayward’s stint with the Thunder was unmemorable. The 34-year-old averaged just 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 17 minutes. He shot 51.7% from 3 but on 1.1 attempts.
Hayward’s playoff time fizzled to three total minutes in the Thunder’s last three contests against the Dallas Mavericks. He finished the postseason scoreless.
In his exit interview, Hayward was disappointed with his tenure in OKC. He stated a lack of touches and consistent minutes as the main culprits for his subpar performances.
“Obviously disappointing with kind of how it all worked out,” Hayward said. “This is not what I thought it would be. Certainly frustrating. But kind of it is what it is.”
In his end-of-season press conference, Thunder general manager Sam Presti was surprisingly transparent about Hayward’s tenure, admitting he agrees with the player’s assessment and that the midseason move not working out falls on him.
“I missed on that. That’s on me,” Presti said about the Hayward trade. “But I’m learning. I’m trying to learn this team. I’m trying to learn the pace of the team a little bit. I’m just trying to be a great observer of the team as it’s going through these paces, knowing that it’s really going to change on its own.”
Presti explained — in hindsight — he should’ve thought more about the adjustment period Hayward would require with the Thunder. They were racking up wins and hitting their stride at the moment. He admitted the fit with Hayward was not as seamless as he’d hoped.
“I think it was a bit of a tough situation,” Presti said. “To go from always starting to coming to a team that was starting to surge quite a bit, that has a different way of playing.
“Just wasn’t able to get going quite to the level that I think he wanted to. He helped us get to the No. 1 seed. He was in the rotation. He had some nights where he had to start. I think he did help our rebounding quite a bit.”
While the Hayward trade wasn’t a catastrophe that hurt the Thunder’s playoff appearance, it is a blemish on a deadline deal that looked genius.
Presti will need to learn from this error. This was likely the first of several trade deadlines when OKC will be viewed as buyers as it ascended to title contenders this year. It will also need to be more thoughtful when game-planning possible outside additions this offseason.
The Hayward era for the Thunder is a blunt reminder that while a move might look great on paper, nothing is guaranteed until the on-court product musters positive results.
“I would have liked it to have worked out better for Gordon, but that’s just the way it goes,” Presti said.
