Oklahoma City Thunder: 1-Time NBA All-Star Veteran Expresses Big Disappointment With His Current Role in OKC

The 34-year-old swingman arrived to Oklahoma City via a trade with the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Vasilije Micic, Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, two second-round picks, and cash considerations. The Oklahoma City Thunder envisioned Hayward to lead their second unit, but that didn’t happen, especially in the playoffs.

“Disappointing with how it all kind of worked out,” Gordon Hayward said via Brandon Rahbar on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Certainly frustrating. I feel, as a player, I have a lot to offer. Just wasn’t really given much of an opportunity to do that. I thought I would be given that opportunity.”

“I think with the minutes that I was given – and like I said, the role that I was in – I think there might have been some possessions where I could probably have been more aggressive, Hayward further explained. “But it’s hard when you just get in the game and it’s not like you’re given an open shot, you’re asked to, as I’ve never really been the type of player to kind of just go one-on-one first time I get it, take a tough contested shot.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have a few weeks to negotiate with Gordon Hayward, if they plan to bring him back, before he hits unrestricted free agency on July 1.

Gordon Hayward’s short stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder

Gordon Hayward played in 26 regular-season games for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season (three starts), averaging career-lows of 5.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game on 45.3 percent shooting from the field.

In the playoffs, Hayward was rarely used by the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he only averaged 6.6 minutes per contest through their first seven playoff games before benching him for good in Games 4 to 6 against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.

The 2017 NBA All-Star didn’t score a single point throughout this playoffs and attempted just three total shots.