Gordon Hayward Already Injured After Signing Massive Contract With Hornets

Gordon Hayward signed a four-year, $120 million deal with the Charlotte Hornets in late November and it's taken him little more than two weeks to suffer an injury. After playing in two preseason games, Hayward may already be sidelined as he's reportedly suffered an avulsion fracture to the fifth finger of his right hand.

Hayward is officially listed as day-to-day, but avulsion fractures can be nasty business and linger for a while. The fact that the injury is on his shooting hand makes it worse news. The guy just can't catch a break health-wise.

The last time Hayward signed a big contract was with the Boston Celtics back in 2017. He celebrated that four-year, $128 million deal by fracturing his left tibia and dislocating his left ankle less than six minutes into his regular season debut. He hasn't been the same player since.

Aside the 2017 leg injury, he's dealt with persistent ankle injuries, a fractured left hand and even suffered a concussion over the past three seasons. It's been a rough road for the 30-year-old. Hopefully this finger injury isn't a sign of things to come, because Charlotte just sunk a ton of money into him.