The Charlotte Hornets will be without the services of forward Gordon Hayward for the foreseeable future after he was diagnosed with a left shoulder fracture this week.
Hayward, who is currently averaging 16.3pts/4.3reb/4.4ast this season, is the latest Hornet to be sidelined, joining LaMelo Ball, Cody Martin, and Dennis Smith Jr. on the growing list of injuries in Charlotte.
The 32 year old missed 8 games earlier this month with an injury to the same left shoulder, but had rejoined the club for the last 3 games. Hayward initially tweaked the shoulder in a game vs. Chicago on November 2nd, and then appeared to re-aggravate it vs. Washington on the 20th.
Hayward’s career has been plagued by a variety of injuries, with the Butler alum suiting up for no more than 52 games in any of the past 4 seasons.
However not everyone has been pleased with how the matter has been handled. After the team ruled the 6’7” forward out for Friday’s contest against the Timberwolves with a “left shoulder contusion”, Gordon’s wife Robyn Hayward took to social media to set the record straight.
“He actually has a fractured scapula… that they had him play with last game… that’s why he couldn’t move his arm up in the last game,” she wrote on her Instagram story. “Just to clarify – since the team doesn’t say. It’s a fracture in the shoulder. Which is a broken bone,” she wrote. “I’ve [sic] over them not protecting players. Just was talking with a young player’s mom and she was saying the same thing…”.
Hayward is currently in the 3rd year of a 4yr/$120M contract which will see him make $30M this season, and become a free agent in 2024.
With Charlotte currently sitting at 6-14, and missing two of their better offensive players in Hayward & Ball, it’s largely expected that the Hornets will be in full fledged tank mode as they throw their hat into the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
The team doesn’t get much in terms of scheduling favours over the next stretch either as they’ll face the Celtics, Wizards, Bucks, Clippers and Nets in their next 5 contests.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: TonyTheTiger. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.