Gordon Hayward signs offer sheet with Hornets
By Mike Dyce
The Charlotte Hornets have found their man in restricted free agent Gordon Hayward. They signed him to on offer sheet worth $63 million over four years at the stroke of midnight last night.
Gordon Hayward signed his offer sheet. Under NBA rules, Jazz has until July 13 at 11:59 p.m.. to decide whether to match and retain him.
— Rick Bonnell (@rick_bonnell) July 10, 2014
That means that the Utah Jazz, Hayward’s last team, has until July 13th at 11:59 p.m. to decide if they’re going to match the offer and retain him. While the Jazz decide, Hayward is counting as a $15 million cap hold against the Hornets’ payroll.
This move also eliminates any sign-and-trade option.
Had the Cleveland Cavaliers not gotten into the race for free agent LeBron James, he could have found himself in northeast Ohio according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.
"The Cavaliers were strongly considering offering Hayward the max, sources said, until the opportunity to become a leading bidder for LeBron James arose."
With the Jaxx last year Hayward averaged 16.2 points per game, shooting 41 percent from the field. The 16.2 points per game was a career high mark for Hayward. He also averaged a career high 36.4 minutes per game, only the second time in his four-year career he has averaged over 30 minutes a game.