featured-image

Gordon Hayward At The Forefront Of Hornets’ Versatile Wing Group

Training Camp | Gordon Hayward One-On-One - 9/28/22

The term ‘glue guy’ is used frequently in the NBA to describe a player that fills in the gaps by doing a little bit of everything here and there out on the court. While this description fits Hornets forward Gordon Hayward to a T, his abilities as a glue guy really go above and beyond.

Hayward’s three-level scoring mastery is one of the best in the league and provides continually steadiness whenever he’s out on the court. Last season, he shot 62.1% in the restricted area (100-of-161), 49.1% from the mid-range (55-of-112) and 39.1% on 3-point attempts (86-of-220), leading to an average of 15.9 points on an overall shooting split of 45.9%.

Possessing great physical dimensions at 6’7” and roughly 225 pounds, Hayward can hold his own on the glass against bigs and serve as a larger, play-making guard with sensational ball-handling and facilitating capabilities. Defensively, he can switch just about anywhere on the floor, clog passing lanes and generate takeaways. Simply put, he’s the ultimate connector.   

But two season-ending injuries have limited Hayward to just 93 of a possible 156 total games since arriving in Charlotte in November of 2020. A silver lining to these ailments – a foot sprain, then a Grade III ankle sprain made worse by a bone chip – is that they were largely freak accidents and not related to anything chronic. The numbers speak from themselves – the Hornets are 50-43 with Hayward in the lineup (.538) and just 26-37 without him (.413).

“I’ve basically been off since almost February,” said Hayward. “I’ve been rehabbing for about half the offseason and then really training the way I want to train for the rest of it. My body feels good right now and I’m ready to get rolling. I’m excited about Coach Clifford and our team this year.”

He added, “We’ve been right there the last couple seasons. The way they’ve ended unfortunately for myself is not the way I wanted to with some injuries. I think if we clean up a couple things, we’ll be in the mix. I think if we focus on ourselves and getting better, have some health things go more my way this year, I think we should be good.”

Behind Hayward is Kelly Oubre Jr., who finished his first season in Charlotte as the NBA’s third-leading bench scorer amongst players with at least 50 such appearances at 14.7 points per game (15.0 points overall). Backed by an overall 34.5% 3-point percentage, Oubre set multiple franchise records for reserve scoring and 3-pointers as a potent off-the-bench flamethrower.

But with that production came some streakiness from Oubre, particularly towards the latter part of the schedule. He shot under 30% from 3-point range from February on, finished in the bottom-5 amongst the 112 qualified NBA players in free-throw percentage (66.7%) and accordingly to himself, simply wasn’t the type of defensive player he had been before.

“Coach Clifford told me playing against me back in the past, I was a defensive pest,” said Oubre on Media Day. “Last year, obviously I got off of that. I just need to get back to my old self. That’s pretty much all he told me. I’m excited to take on that challenge.”

Jalen McDaniels played mostly at the three in the 2020-21 campaign, but transitioned primarily back to the four last season, leading to career highs in several statistical categories. A multi-positional defender, the San Diego State product is coming off shooting a career-high 38.0% from 3-point range (41-of-108), included a team-best 41.5% from above the break (27-of-65).

Getting stronger will continue to be a priority for the lanky McDaniels. Doing so should lead to more success finishing through contact, increased productivity on the glass and less instances of getting bumped off his spots by opposing defenders.

Granted a small sample size, but rookie Bryce McGowens showed off a smooth 3-point stroke at NBA Summer League in July by knocking down 12-of-28 attempts (42.9%). He plays and shoots with a controlled fluidity and this outburst is hopefully a good sign of things to come after he hit 27.4% of his long-distance shots as a Nebraska freshman.

McGowens converted just 10-of-37 inside-the-arc shots (27.0%) at Summer League, an area that should improve with physical maturation and better shot selection. He also had a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in Las Vegas and could use more seasoning as an on and off-the-ball creator. Presumably, most of his minutes are going to come in the G League this season.

While Oubre and McDaniels, plus Cody Martin and JT Thor are options for the wing rotation, how far this group can go ultimately begins and ends with Hayward. And right now, all indications point to the invaluable vet being fully refreshed and roaring to go heading into his 13th NBA season.