The Charlotte Hornets acquired guard Tre Mann, forward Davis Bertans, point guard Vasilije Micic, and second-round draft selections in 2024 and 2025 from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for small player Gordon Hayward, who was frequently injured.
The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired guard Tre Mann, forward Davis Bertans, point guard Vasilije Micic, and second-round draft selections in 2024 and 2025 from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for small player Gordon Hayward, who is frequently injured.
It was officially announced late on Thursday night.
In 2020, the Hornets inked Hayward to a four-year, $120 million contract in the hopes that he would help them establish themselves as a reliable postseason squad. However, that hasn’t occurred as Charlotte is on track to have the longest current NBA postseason drought, having missed the playoffs for eight straight seasons.
Hayward’s wounds have played a part in that.
Since his arrival, he has missed half of Charlotte’s games (128 of 296), or 43% of the total. Hornets stats: 10–40.
Hayward may benefit the Thunder, who came into Thursday’s games tied with Minnesota and Denver for the best record in the Western Conference (35-16), if he can recover from a left calf injury.
In 25 games this season, Hayward, who turns 34 in March, has averaged 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists while shooting 36.1% from three-point range. In his 14-year career, he has averaged 15.5 points a game.
The Hornets are still reassembling.
On Thursday, P.J. Washington was also moved by Charlotte to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a first-round draft pick in 2027. The Hornets announced that they have waived Ish Smith, Frank Ntilikina, and James Bouknight, their first-round pick in 2021, to free up space on the roster.
Terry Rozier was traded by the Hornets to the Miami Heat last month in return for Kyle Lowry and a future conditional first-round draft pick. Lowry is anticipated to accept a buyout even though he hasn’t played for the Hornets.
As the organisation attempts to reorganise its roster, Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak stated at the time that Charlotte would be interested in moving more players before the deadline. In dealing Washington and Hayward, the franchise accomplished just that.
Miles Bridges had a no-trade clause in his contract, so the Hornets chose not to trade him. Bridges, who scored 45 points on Wednesday and 41 points on Monday, will therefore play for Charlotte at least through the end of the current campaign.
Bridges’ Bird rights allow the Hornets to sign him to a maximum-dollar contract, which would allow them to surpass the salary cap. Bridges becomes an unrestricted free agency this summer.
Mann was chosen by the Thunder in the 2021 draft with the 18th overall pick. Despite being a popular favourite, his playing time decreased as the team brought in more capable players. In his first season (2021–2022), he started 26 games and scored 10.4 points per game on average. He scored a career-high 35 points in a defeat to Boston and 30 points in a victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden that same year. Since then, he has made five starts in games.
Bertans hasn’t played much since joining the Thunder on draft night of last year, when he was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks. In eight seasons, his career 3-point percentage is 39.8%.
Philadelphia sold the rights to Micic to Oklahoma City in 2020. In 2023, the Thunder signed him after bringing him over from Europe. This season, in 12 minutes a game, the Serbian is averaging 3.3 points and 2.5 assists, demonstrating his exceptional passing skills.
Cliff Brunt, an AP sports writer based in Oklahoma City, contributed to this article.
