Coveted NBA free agent Gordon Hayward is headed to the
Charlotte Hornets on a deal reported by ESPN to be worth $120 million over four
years.

Hayward’s agents Priority Sports added confirmation of the
move on their Twitter feed with a post saying “Congrats to @gordonhayward
on agreeing to terms with @hornets!”

Hayward became a free agent Thursday when he declined a
$34.2 million player option with the Boston Celtics for the upcoming season.

He had inked a four-year, $127.8 million contract with the
Celtics in 2017, but his tenure in Boston was shadowed by injury, starting with
a grisly foot and ankle injury suffered minutes into his regular-season debut
with the club.

He missed the rest of that season, and after a spotty
2018-19 campaign he averaged 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 52
games of the pandemic-disrupted 2019-20 campaign.

Hayward was sidelined again in the playoffs in the NBA’s
quarantine bubble in Orlando, spraining his right ankle in the opening game of
Boston’s first-round series against Philadelphia.

He returned during the Eastern Conference finals, in which
the Celtics fell in six games to the Miami Heat.

The NBA’s free agency negotiating period began on Friday,
but deals can’t be finalized until the signing period starts on Sunday.

Both the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers had been
reported to be in the running to land Hayward, with the 30-year-old forward
reported by some to favor a return to his native Indiana before the Hornets
apparently swooped in.

Meanwhile, journeyman point guard Rajon Rondo is joining the
Atlanta Hawks on a reported two-year, $15 million deal.

The 34-year-old Rondo is entering his 15th NBA season and
this will be his sixth team. He spent the last two with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rondo thanked the Lakers, his teammates and the fans on
Instagram earlier Saturday.

“To the fans…thank you for welcoming me with open
arms from Day 1 and showing me love. Being apart of #LakeShow was something
special and I’m proud we brought it back to you!”

Also, the Toronto Raptors are poised to sign guard Fred
VanVleet to a four-year, $85 million deal, Canadian media reported.

The deal represents a huge payday for VanVleet, who entered
the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

VanVleet played a crucial role in the Raptors’ run to a
championship in 2019.