Hornets trade tracker: PJ Washington to Dallas, Miles Bridges staying, Gordon Hayward to OKC

Call it a swap of hometown players.

The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to send PJ Washington to Dallas for Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round pick, league sources confirmed to the Observer. Williams, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Providence Day, went to the Mavericks in a three-team sign-and trade in July and is in the first year of a four-year, $53 million deal.

Washington, who signed a three-year contract worth up to $48 million in August, played his high school basketball in Dallas. He was one of Charlotte’s most versatile pieces, playing power forward and center.

The deal capped a whirlwind day of moves for the Hornets. They’re beginning to look to the future and prepare for an important offseason to try to get the franchise heading in the right direction.

Gordon Hayward sent to OKC

Gordon Hayward has played his final game with the Charlotte Hornets.

Hayward is being traded to Oklahoma City for Tre Mann, Dāvis Bertāns, Vasilije Micić and two second-round picks, a league source confirmed. The move ends a disappointing three-plus seasons in Charlotte for Hayward, who signed a four-year, $120 million deal in 2020 but never truly lived up to the contract because he was so oft-injured.

Hayward was available for less than 60% of the games and has missed the last 22 nursing a strained left calf sustained on Dec. 26. He seemed to be on track for a possible return in Wednesday’s loss to Toronto, but was held out, possibly to ensure he didn’t re-injure himself prior to Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

Miles Bridges won’t waive no-trade clause

Miles Bridges isn’t going anywhere.

Bridges’ agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN his client will not waive his no-trade clause and is staying with the Hornets for the rest of the season. It reiterates what the Observer reported nearly two weeks ago, when Bridges said he didn’t want to play for another team, referencing how the franchise stuck behind him throughout his legal woes.

Bridges also repeated his thoughts after scoring a career-high 45 points in Wednesday night’s loss to Toronto. He will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and wants to still be part of the team’s young core moving forward alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

Multiple teams had inquired about Bridges’ availability during the past few weeks, but they will have to turn their attention elsewhere. With the 25-year-old combo forward staying put, it means PJ Washington is the Hornets’ most tradeable commodity and his market will depend on what transpires with Bridges’ good friend and fellow Flint, Michigan, native Kyle Kuzma of the Washington Wizards, per a league source.

If Kuzma is off the market or a deal for him is deemed too expensive, Washington becomes a target.

Calm before the storm

Understanding the situation and what may be on the horizon, Steve Clifford decided to shake things up a bit Thursday.

The NBA trade deadline is looming and the Hornets have more than their share of chatter hovering around, given their anticipated wheeling and dealing before the clock strikes 3 p.m. ET. So, their veteran coach elected to alter his usual approach to help combat any nervous energy or tension that may crop up.

“Everybody’s got to come in, they’ve got to do something because I understand where they are coming from,” Clifford said after Wednesday night’s loss to Toronto. “That way they can come in, they can shoot, they can lift. Whatever. Kind of let them be by themselves and then by 3 o’clock we’ll know. And then we’ll know who our team is and then we can get going.”

The Hornets’ roster could have a different look when they head to Milwaukee on Thursday evening for their matchup with the Bucks at Fiserv Forum on Friday night. Besides all signs pointing toward Gordon Hayward’s exit, multiple teams have expressed interest in PJ Washington and Miles Bridges and the Hornets have fielded calls on both.

Bridges posted back-to-back career bests, following up Monday’s 43-point outburst with a 45-point effort against Toronto. He’s only the fourth player in franchise history to record consecutive 40-point games, joining Glen Rice, Terry Rozier and Kemba Walker.

And Bridges reiterated what he told the Observer last week — he has no desire to play anywhere else, in part because the Hornets stuck behind him and brought him back despite his legal woes.

He also is bullish on the team’s core, spearheaded by star point guard LaMelo Ball and rookie Brandon Miller. Injuries, Bridges insists, robbed the Hornets of whatever promise they had to snap the NBA’s longest playoff drought.

“Yeah, we haven’t played with our full healthy team the whole year,” he said. “And I feel like if we had our full team, there’s no way we wouldn’t be in the playoffs — and not even in the play-in. We’d be in the playoffs. But we’ve got a great future ahead of us if we can just stay healthy.”

Bridges is one of the few durable Hornets and has a fan in Clifford.

“I’m going to be honest with you,” Clifford said, “his effort every night he plays is remarkable. Listen, this guy has always played minutes. He’s played 38, 39 minutes every night. He plays the whole first (quarter), the whole third. He gets like three-and-a half minutes (off) in the fourth and the second. That’s it. And yet, rarely … he never asks to come out and he plays every dribble.

“And there just aren’t many guys who can do what he’s doing.”

Inquiring minds want to know if Bridges will continue to do it in a Hornets uniform. The clock is ticking and the answer could signal which direction the franchise is heading as it shifts into evaluation mode.

“Change is a big part of doing this,” Clifford said. “You get close with players, have friendships that grow over years and things like that, but players are free agents, players get traded, coaches get fired. And it’s just the way it is.”

The Observer will keep tabs on the Hornets’ happenings, tracking it right here.