Where Do The Charlotte Hornets Go From Here?

The Charlotte Hornets sent shockwaves through the NBA last week, when the organization agreed to sign 30-year-old Gordon Hayward to a four-year contract worth $120 million.

While the acquisition parameters of the deal are still being worked out, the Hornets could face a scenario wherein they will have to stretch the remaining $27.1 million of Nicolas Batum’s contract.

This would be bad for at least a few reasons.

Batum’s contract would get stretched into three seasons, meaning the Hornets would have to carry over $9 million in dead money on their cap during that time.

With Hayward’s contract already on the high side of what anyone should want to give a player at that age with that injury history, the Hornets would effectively pay, on average, $39 million a year for the combination of Hayward and Batum’s stretched salary.

The Hornets, who just got out of salary cap purgatory after years of poor spending habits, would under this scenario go straight back into it for no particular reason than to take a flier on a former one-time All-Star.

Let’s be honest here. Hayward will make the team better. He’s a legitimate playmaking and scoring wing, who can initiate the offense. That’s valuable. The concern here is not about skill, but rather the magnitude of compensation. A star wing isn’t just a star wing. There are varying degrees of talent and impact.

Hayward, who is paid somewhat similarly as Kawhi Leonard, is not the caliber of star who will immediately and automatically make your team a lock for the playoffs. He’s a good stepping stone towards that target, but you have to wonder which doors the Hornets have closed by going all-in on Hayward financially.

One question that looms large over the contract is how tradeable it will be, especially if Hayward suffers another significant injury.

That said, the Hornets are looking into methods on how to acquire Hayward via sign-and-trade by using Batum’s contract, thus avoiding having to stretch him.

That, however, will probably mean further sacrifice.

The fact that the Hornets decided to overpay Hayward is their own choice. But given that they need to make additional moves to fit him under their salary cap, teams will be able to squeeze them in trades, to take on some of their money.

It is solely a position the Hornets have put themselves in, and one they quite honestly cannot afford to be in. Nevertheless, their decision to go for Hayward will have a ripple effect on either their long-term finances, or it will see them give up talent in a trade to shed money from their cap.

Whichever way you’re looking at it, it’s not good.

What is further strange is the decision to pivot in the manner that they just did. The Hornets came into the 2020 offseason with a great outlook. They did a tremendous job in the draft, walking away with LaMelo Ball, Vernon Carey Jr., Nick Richards and Grant Riller.

That talent injection is substantial, and with the cap space they had recently opened up for by waiting out some bad contracts allowed them the chance to get creative. For a rebuilding team, they were in prime position to turn the page and establish a young core with gobs of potential moving forward.

The Hayward signing indicates they want to accelerate, and are willing to pay for that acceleration, when they really should just be focusing on development.

Maybe their logic is that a playoff spot would help said development of their youngsters. That’s not unreasonable logic, to be fair. But the cost of that could turn out huge, to the point where you have to wonder if it’s worth it in a couple of years.

So where do the Hornets go from here?

For now, given their investment in Hayward, they probably go in the direction he takes them and figure out things as they develop.

That type of approach is typically fine if the player you sign is an all-world caliber player, so for the sake of the Hornets, they need to hope that Hayward – at age 30 – can take another evolutionary leap in his game without letting it affect the development of the young core.

Because for that price, both the contract and what they will eventually have to relinquish to afford it, they’re certainly paying for it.