The NBA is a big business. Teams have to make decisions with their bottom line in mind. Fans don’t like it. They don’t want their team to focus on balancing their cap sheet.

Still, it’s a necessary component of doing business in this league. With that in mind, every team has their own priorities. Rebuilding teams will take on bad contracts if they come with assets.

They can afford the salary space. For example, take the Charlotte Hornets. This team could send Gordon Hayward’s expiring contract to a rebuilding team if someone wanted it.

There comes a time when using opportunistic assets like a large expiring salary is the best option for a franchise to take. The Los Angeles Lakers did this with Russell Westbrook before the midseason trade deadline for win-now pieces.

The Hornets, on the other hand, could do a similar move with Hayward’s contract, but instead, they could do so to get compensated to take on less favorable contracts to start a transaction cycle.

Here’s a deal that has them sending him to the New York Knicks.