Grade the Trade: Thunder add former All-Star at the Deadline in no-brainer deal

Evaluating Hayward's on-court fit

Gordon Hayward's best season in the NBA was likely the 2016-17 season, when he lead the Utah Jazz to 51 wins and made his only All-Star appearance. His career was then tragically derailed when he broke his leg in the season opener the following year and never got back to his previous levels of athleticism.

To Hayward's credit he has developed other areas of his game and continued to be a positive offensive player over the six seasons since his return from that leg injury. He has improved as a passer and playmaker, maintained a solid level of perimeter shooting, and has a big of craft finishes to compensate for a lack of dunks in traffic or isolation showdowns.

Hayward is a seamless fit with the Thunder on offense. He is a good enough shooter, especially from the corners, to not take anything off the table when playing alongside the Thunder's best players. His playmaking makes him an excellent fit with bench lineups as well; he's not the level of passer that Josh Giddey is, but his floor-spacing makes him arguably a better fit in most lineups.

Defensively Hayward has fallen off the most, but he has quick hands and plays solid team defense. He can get cooked individually, but he will be asked to take on the least threating defensive matchup in most lineups. He should help the team continue to generate steals and has the size to defend either forward position.

If Hayward can't stay healthy, his shot abandons him or he proves to be too weak of an option defensively, the Thunder can simply limit his minutes or not play him at all. Yet his skillset truly does look like an ideal fit with the lineups that the Thunder have in place now.

Grade: A-