After suffering a broken wrist last week, Hornets guard LaMelo Ball underwent surgery to repair the fracture. Initial reports suggested Ball was expected to miss the rest of the season, but the team’s press release following the surgery didn’t close the door on the possibility of a return, indicating that the standout rookie would be reevaluated in four weeks.
Addressing Ball’s injury publicly for the first time today, Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak acknowledged that the team isn’t ruling out the 19-year-old for the rest of 2020/21, as Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes.
“We don’t know if LaMelo is out for the season or not,” Kupchak said during a conference call. “There is a possibility (of Ball playing again), just based on other players who have had this injury, that maybe he does come back for some portion of the year.”
As I noted at the time of Ball’s surgery, the idea of getting him back for the end of the season, including possibly for a play-in tournament appearance or a postseason series, is a tantalizing one. The 22-21 Hornets are currently the No. 4 seed in the East, so it’s safe to assume they’ll be in the hunt for a playoff berth all the way down to the wire, if they haven’t clinched a spot by the end of the regular season.
Still, I also cautioned that the Hornets won’t be in any rush to get their potential franchise player back on the court unless they’re absolutely confident that he’s 100% healthy. Kupchak confirmed that point in his conversation with the media today.
“The one thing we know we’re not going to do in any event is put his health in jeopardy,” Kupchak said, per Bonnell. “If we get to the end of the (regular season), and we’re in a playoff hunt, and he’s not quite ready — (where) we feel we could get him back on the court and push it — we won’t do that.”
Assuming Charlotte sticks its timeline of a four-week reevaluation, we should get a formal update from the team on Ball’s status on or around April 20.
If LaMelo could come back before the end of the season it would be sooo awesome!
He’s been pretty awesome but his health matters most. If Hornets are in the playoff race though I wouldn’t blame them if their isn’t any risk of making it worse.
Good for my fantasy team(s)