Teams are studying the situation of Gordon Hayward, who is expected to leave the Hornets

Increasingly closer to the end, the trade deadline is shaking up behind the scenes of NBA. This time, the name to be floated by the teams is that of the winger Gordon Haywardof Charlotte Hornets. The athlete must be exchanged or even released by the franchise. North Caroline, if you cannot reach an agreement with another team. The end of the North American basketball league’s trading period takes place on February 8th.

According to the journalist Jake Fischer, from “Yahoo Sports”, the teams are monitoring the situation of the 33-year-old winger. In fact, this is nothing new, as speculation about the team leaving Charlotte have been happening since the NBA preseason. “I think this can finally happen. Speculations about him have been going on for some time. But looking at how the market is shaped, as it is a winger, it is a name that we can see being involved in some exchange. But some NBA teams see Gordon Hayward as someone who can be released.”said Fischer.

In the 2023/24 season, Hayward averages 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.1 steal in 31.9 minutes on the court. The winger played in 25 matches during the campaign, missing 11 due to injury, including missing eight consecutive matches. The former All-Star of the league has a sad history with injuries, which is one of the main reasons for his less-than-established career. After more than 70 games in six of his first seven years in the league, the number 20 suffered an injury in the first game of the bizarre 2017/18 season, which marked his departure from the Utah Jazz for the Boston Celtics.

Since then, he has suffered from numerous injuries at important moments, such as during the playoffs with the Massachusetts. This led to his departure in 2020, becoming a free agent, when he signed a four-year, $120 million contract with the Hornets. This is something that limits the winger’s market, even though he is a player who contributes and has an impact on the match. Finding a team that accepts the $31.5 million contract for the current season could be complicated.

If he is released, some title contender teams would not be able to sign him, as the league’s new labor agreement states that teams that exceed the second salary cap cannot obtain waived players. This would apply to Golden State WarriorsBoston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns It is Milwaukee Bucks. “In the end, the possibility of Gordon Hayward changing teams is greater than ever”added the journalist who provided the information.