DECEMBER 16: Hayward plans to make his return to the Hornets’ lineup on Friday, agent Mark Bartelstein confirms to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
DECEMBER 15: Hornets forward Gordon Hayward, who has missed nine consecutive games with a left shoulder fracture, is “hopeful” he’ll be able to return to action on Friday against the Hawks, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
According to Wojnarowski, Hayward will determine whether he’s ready to go after Friday’s shootaround.
Hayward also missed eight straight games early last month with what the Hornets called a left shoulder contusion. That apparent discrepancy was a point of contention for Hayward’s wife, who criticized the organization for not protecting its players after her husband was diagnosed with a fracture, not a contusion.
The 32-year-old has always been a productive player when healthy, and this season has been no different. Through 11 games (32.3 MPG) in 2022/23, he has averaged 16.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 4.4 APG on .445/.381/.767 shooting.
Hayward’s potential return will be a welcome sight for both the player and the team, as star point guard LaMelo Ball just returned on Wednesday. Ball has appeared in just four games thus far for the Hornets after dealing with a couple of left ankle sprains.
Injuries have been a significant issue for Hayward since he joined Boston as a free agent in 2017, but if he can stay healthy for the next few months perhaps he’ll boost his stock. He has one more year left on his current contract, which will pay him $31.5MM in ’23/24, so he’ll be a free agent in 2024.
The NBA needs to ban this clown. He robbing the league of money.
Bro if somebody’s paying him that’s their fault not his…this is Boston’s fault originally and Charlotte’s fault for trading for him.
Terrible take, DoD. I say that as a Hornets fan. All he’s doing is collecting on the contract *they* offered him. When he’s been on the court he’s played well and given effort, too. His only drawback has been the injuries, and the Hornets may have set him up for his most recent one.
Trade him to Sacramento when he is healthy please
That would be 2025
Should have never left Utah in the first place.
Trade him immediately maybe to Miami for Duncan both have monster contract but are least Duncan can stay healthy and shoot 3 points basket
Miami doesn’t want him…actually I take that back he’s the exact person they deserve