#1 The Charlotte Hornets move on from Gordon Hayward
Since joining the Charlotte Hornets in 2020, Gordon Hayward has struggled to remain healthy. Sure, there have been stretches where the versatile forward has flashed his All-Star skillset and looked worth every penny of his monster $120 million deal. Yet, those moments have been few and far between, as Hayward is continually locked in a cycle of rehabilitation and injury setbacks.
However, as Hayward enters the final year of his contract, we can expect him to have some trade value around the NBA. As such, the Hornets will likely explore their options when it comes to the 33-year-old, especially if they feel there is legitimate value to be had by entering into trade discussions with other teams from around the league.
Of course, if Hayward can string together a healthy season, moving on from him could look like a bad decision for the Hornets. However, given Charlotte’s current timeline and the early stages of its rebuilding process, trading away a veteran who is earning over $30 million makes too much sense to ignore.
Still, despite all of the injury issues and his advancing age, Hayward is a player that can provide a scoring punch and some secondary ball-handling to a contending team, which is why he ranks as the player most likely to be traded during the offseason.