Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

LaMelo Ball Likely Sidelined For Extended Period

November 30th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 30: Ball will be reevaluated in one week after an MRI confirmed he suffered a right ankle sprain, according to a release from the team.

NOVEMBER 28: Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball has a severely sprained right ankle and will likely miss extended time, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

While the ankle isn’t fractured, a cautious approach is expected for a player who has been riddled with injuries in his young career. Ball had surgery on the same ankle last season. He’s currently in a walking boot and on crutches, per Charania.

Ball had already been ruled out Tuesday’s in-season tournament game against the Knicks. He needed assistance to leave the court on Sunday after being injured against Orlando.

Ball landed awkwardly while attempting a left-handed layup shortly before halftime of that contest when he got tangled up with Paolo Banchero.

Ball was limited to 36 games last season because of four ankle injuries. He had gotten off to a strong start this fall — 24.7 points, 8.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. He scored 30 points or more in seven of his last 10 games.

Ball signed a five-year max extension during the summer. Ball’s starting salary on the new deal will pay him at least 25% of the 2024/25 cap. There is reportedly Rose Rule language in the contract that could increase that figure to 30% of the cap if Ball earns All-NBA honors this season. A lengthy absence would almost certainly dash those hopes, given the 65-game minimum requirement for major awards this seasono.

Without Ball, Hornets guards Ish Smith, Theo Maledon and James Bouknight could all see a bump in playing time.

Southeast Notes: Ball, Bridges, Avdija, Magic

November 29th, 2023 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets haven’t provided an update on LaMelo Ball‘s ankle injury or given any indication of a timetable for his return, but it sounds like his teammates are preparing to be without him for an extended stretch, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

Ball had to be assisted to the locker room after hurting the ankle Sunday in Orlando. He has been ruled out for Thursday’s game at Brooklyn, but no official details have been given beyond that. Ball wore a walking boot and used a crutch during Wednesday’s practice, according to Boone.

“Yeah it’s tough, no matter how you cut it, it’s tough,” Mark Williams said. “But at the same time that’s what the league is. You’ve got to be able to adjust. You’ve got to be able to cooperate well with different lineups and you’ve just got to find a way. But of course it’s tough. It’s tough not having your guys out there. But guys know they’ve got to step up and you’ve got to figure it out.”

A report Tuesday indicated that Ball avoided an ankle fracture, but he’s still expected to miss significant time. Hornets coach Steve Clifford plans to handle the absence the same way he did when Ball had surgery on the ankle in March, keeping the talented guard close to the team and including him in discussions of game strategy.

“He’ll be at shootaround and he’s just got to continue,” Clifford said. “He’ll do the same stuff that he did last year, the same stuff that he did with his rehab before.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Despite his legal issues, there’s a good chance Miles Bridges will have a long-term future with the Hornets, Boone adds in a mailbag column. Bridges, who’s averaging 19.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists since returning from his 10-game suspension, accepted the team’s $7.9MM qualifying offer and will be an unrestricted free agent in July.
Wizards forward Deni Avdija has become more consistent after being a hot-and-cold shooter through his first three NBA seasons, notes Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports. Avdija is third on the team in scoring at 12.1 PPG while shooting a career-high 51.9% from the floor and 39.6% from three-point range. The 22-year-old is solidified as part of the future in Washington after signing a four-year extension prior to the season.
The Magic had several chances to advance to the final eight in the in-season tournament, but nothing went their way Tuesday night, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando could have won East Group C with a Toronto victory over Brooklyn or a Boston win over Chicago by fewer than 22 points. The Magic also had a chance at a wild card if Miami had won at Milwaukee or New York had beaten Charlotte by fewer than four points. Orlando wound up getting eliminated despite a 3-1 record and a +22 point differential.

Eastern Rumors: Nets, Quickley, Hawks, Hayward, Martin

November 29th, 2023 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Executives around the NBA continue to monitor Nets forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale, who were considered trade candidates during the offseason, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Rival executives believe Brooklyn will seek the equivalent of two first-round picks for Finney-Smith, though they hope that cost will drop closer to the deadline, according to Scotto, who adds that some execs who spoke to HoopsHype think the Nets would want a protected first-round pick for O’Neale. Finney-Smith still has multiple years left on his contract, while O’Neale is on an expiring deal.

Teams are also eyeing Nic Claxton and are curious to see whether Brooklyn is willing to roll the dice on re-signing him as an unrestricted free agent next summer, since he won’t become extension-eligible before then. For now, the Nets view Claxton as part of their core and wouldn’t be inclined to move him unless they get an offer that blows them away, Scotto explains.

Finally, some NBA executives think that veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie might be available on the trade market later this season — and they think he’d have some value. “Dinwiddie can help a team and make big shots,” one exec told Scotto.

Scotto has more trade rumors and notes from around the Eastern Conference. Let’s dive in…

Rival teams are keeping an eye on whether or not the Knicks will make Immanuel Quickley available, according to Scotto, who says the guard was seeking about $25MM per year on a rookie scale extension before the season, while New York offered approximately $18MM annually. “I think Quickley might be New York’s best trade asset besides Jalen Brunson,” one league executive told HoopsHype.
The Hawks still have some trade interest in Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, says Scotto. De’Andre Hunter and Clint Capela were mentioned during the offseason as possible trade candidates for Atlanta and Scotto believes one or both players could be available again before February’s deadline. However, the Mavericks‘ interest in Capela has diminished due to the strong play of rookie Dereck Lively, Scotto notes.
Multiple “playoff-caliber” teams have been in touch with the Hornets to gauge the potential availability of veteran forward Gordon Hayward, per Scotto.
Scotto also reports that teams have expressed some exploratory interest in Sixers wing KJ Martin, who was part of the James Harden blockbuster earlier this month. Martin has played a limited role in Philadelphia but is coming off a solid year in Houston.

Schedule For NBA Tournament Non-Qualifiers Set

November 29th, 2023 at 7:45am CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA in-season tournament will reach the quarterfinal stage next week and the eight qualifiers and their seeds were finalized on Tuesday. The 22 teams that failed to advance had two holes in their schedules that needed to be filled.

Those matchups were determined late Tuesday evening, with each team receiving a home and away contest, NBA Communications tweets. The newly-scheduled games will take place next Wednesday (December 6) and Friday (Dec. 8).

The Cavaliers and Magic, who missed the quarterfinals despite their 3-1 tournament records, will face each other in Cleveland on Wednesday. Cleveland will then visit the Heat (2-2 tournament) on Friday.

The Nets, who also had a 3-1 tournament record, wound up with a road game against the Hawks (1-3) and home game against the Wizards (0-4)

The Sixers, who finished 2-2 in the tournament, drew a road game against the Wizards and a home game against the Hawks.

In the West, the Timberwolves were the only 3-1 tournament team that didn’t reach the quarterfinals. They’ll host the Spurs (0-4) and visit the Grizzlies (0-4).

The defending champion Nuggets will visit Los Angeles to face the Clippers (1-3), then head home to take on the Rockets (2-2). The Warriors, who were knocked out of contention by Sacramento on Tuesday, drew a home game against the Trail Blazers (1-3) and a road contest against the Thunder (1-3).

Here’s the full schedule for next Wednesday and Friday:

Wednesday, Dec. 6

Orlando at Cleveland
Memphis at Detroit
Miami at Toronto
Philadelphia at Washington
Brooklyn at Atlanta
San Antonio at Minnesota
Charlotte at Chicago
Oklahoma City at Houston
Utah at Dallas
Portland at Golden State
Denver at LA Clippers

Friday, Dec. 8

Toronto at Charlotte
Detroit at Orlando
Atlanta at Philadelphia
Washington at Brooklyn
Cleveland at Miami
Minnesota at Memphis
Golden State at Oklahoma City
Chicago at San Antonio
Houston at Denver
LA Clippers at Utah
Dallas at Portland

Two more regular season games will be added to the NBA’s schedule after the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament are complete, since the four teams that lose those matchups will require an 82nd game on their respective schedules.

Injury Notes: Ball, Bouknight, Butler, Murphy, Reddish, Oubre

November 28th, 2023 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s some good news and bad news on the injury front for the Hornets. The team confirmed (via Twitter) that star guard LaMelo Ball will be unavailable on Tuesday in New York for Charlotte’s final round robin game in the in-season tournament, as he’s been ruled out due to a right ankle strain.

However, guard James Bouknight, who has spent the entire season recovering from knee surgery that he underwent last month, has been cleared to return and will be active for the first time on Tuesday. According to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), Bouknight described himself as “excited (and) anxious,” noting that it has been quite some time since he played.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

The Heat still have a chance to claim a spot in the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament with a win over Milwaukee tonight, but if they’re going to do it, they’ll need to do it without Jimmy Butler. He has been ruled out for Tuesday’s contest due to a sprained right ankle, per the team (Twitter link).
With CJ McCollum reportedly nearing a return for the Pelicans, will Trey Murphy be right behind him? Christian Clark of NOLA.com hears from multiple sources that there’s optimism Murphy could make his season debut next week. Murphy underwent surgery in September to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.
Cam Reddish, who has missed the Lakers‘ past three games with a groin strain, is “extremely close” to returning, head coach Darvin Ham said on Monday, according to Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (Twitter link).
Sixers forward Kelly Oubre won’t play on Wednesday, but head coach Nick Nurse isn’t ruling out the possibility that Oubre could be back in action on Friday, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. Oubre, who hasn’t played since November 10 after being struck by a vehicle, took part in contact drills in practice on Tuesday.

LaMelo Ball’s Status Uncertain After Ankle Injury

November 27th, 2023 at 7:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Hornets star LaMelo Ball had to be helped off the court after injuring his right ankle in Sunday’s loss at Orlando. The team announced (via Twitter) that Ball strained the ankle and wouldn’t return, but didn’t provide any further update after the game.

As Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer describes, Ball attempted a left-handed layup shortly before halftime and got tangled up with Paolo Banchero. Ball landed awkwardly and fell to the court in pain before hopping toward the locker room with assistance, unable to put much weight on his right foot.

Boone points out that it’s the same ankle that Ball had surgery on in March, which led to a long recovery that prevented him from being cleared for full basketball activities until a few weeks before training camp. Ball has been wearing ankle braces since then for extra support, Boone adds.

Injuries have plagued the talented point guard since Charlotte drafted him in 2020. Boone notes that he hasn’t made it through a full season in any of his four years in the league, and he was limited to 36 games last season because of four ankle injuries.

The injury comes at an especially bad time because Ball has been putting up some of the best numbers of his career, averaging 33.8 PPG over his last five games. According to Boone, he’s posted at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in seven straight contests and he’s one of seven players throughout the NBA who are averaging at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal per night.

Already off to a disappointing start at 5-10, the Hornets are in danger of sliding further out of the Eastern Conference play-in race if the injury causes Ball to miss significant time. Ball was hurt on the same night that Terry Rozier returned after missing nine games with a groin strain, and coach Steve Clifford talked about the impact of injuries on the team.

“You can’t worry about who is not there, because at the end of the day, it’s a long season,” he said. “We are just starting. The other part is you better know, though, why you are winning and why you are losing. For us, we’ve done some good things. Our lack of depth has been a major, major problem. People talk about bad starts — it’s actually not our starters. Because of so many injuries, we break the lineup quicker than most teams do and it hasn’t been good for us. … I think our record is not where we hoped it would be, but again you have to know why that happens. If you overreact, you are never going to make the best of situations going forward.”

Mark Williams Has Been Early-Season Surprise

November 25th, 2023 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hornets center Mark Williams has been one of the early surprises of the 2023/24 season, per Frank Urbina of HoopsHype. Heading into Wednesday night, Charlotte was 22.6 points per 100 possessions better when Williams was on the court. He’s averaging 13.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and has formed a connection with LaMelo Ball that is helping him shoot better than 70% within five feet of the basket. Coach Steve Clifford believes Williams can expand his offense to eventually become a three-point threat. “Then the big key for him offensively is running the floor, screening, rolling, and eventually, he’ll be a three-point shooter,” Clifford said. “I don’t have any questions about that. I don’t know if it’ll be here early in the year. This is where the thumb injury set him back a little bit. But he’s a lot more instinctive offensively than I realized when we first got him.”

Kai Jones Discusses Hornets Exit, Says He’s Meeting With Teams

November 24th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing this week on the Vizion Podcast (YouTube link), big man Kai Jones discussed the end of his relationship with the Hornets, explaining that he “loved the whole situation in Charlotte” but that he also believes a fresh start could ultimately be for the best.

Explaining the factors that led to his release, Jones said the Hornets were concerned about “the social media stuff,” as well as his sleeping patterns. The 22-year-old said that he was “going through some things” off the court, including the death of his great-grandmother, but that he bristled when the Hornets asked him to speak to a therapist.

“At this time, I’m stubborn, I’m like, ‘Bro, I do not want to see a therapist. I just want to meditate and clear my head and use my intuition to figure out my own issues,'” Jones said. “They’re like, ‘No, you should go to a therapist.'”

Although Jones eventually relented and met with a therapist, he said that he didn’t feel like those sessions were helping him. When the Hornets subsequently asked him not to report to training camp, he recognized that his days with the franchise were likely numbered and requested a trade.

“(Hornets general manager) Mitch (Kupchak) tells me I’m not allowed to do training camp,” Jones said. “When he tells me that, that was when I was like, ‘Yo, I’m off of this team.’ How can I play here? They’re not letting me do training camp. They’re not allowing me to try out for my position, right? So I’m upset, I’m like, ‘Yo, I just wanna leave now. I’m gonna leave.'”

According to Jones, after he asked for a change of scenery, Kupchak told him that the front office didn’t think he would have any real value on the trade market. Jones disagreed, but was ultimately waived instead of being traded. He’s now an unrestricted free agent and said he has spoken to multiple clubs since being let go by Charlotte.

“Right now I’m just meeting with teams, they’re trying to get to know me better, kind of analyzing my character,” Jones said. “I think the biggest thing for me is if I want to take it somewhere else in life and be more successful than I ever have been, I’ve gotta work harder than I ever have, be more detailed than I ever have, be more consistent than I ever have, and be stronger in my will, in my head space, and (physically) than I ever have.”

Jones declined to get into specifics on which teams he has been in contact with since being cut by the Hornets, but one report last week suggested the Clippers brought him in for “a visit of some capacity.” He’s still earning his full $3,047,880 salary for 2023/24, which was guaranteed as part of his deal with the Hornets.

Washington Talks Move To Bench; Out Wednesday

November 22nd, 2023 at 7:15pm CST by Rory Maher

P.J. Washington has started for most of his five-year career with the Hornets, but he was moved to the bench once Miles Bridges returned from a suspension. He took the move in stride, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “At the end of the day it’s a team game,” Washington said. “When we win, we win as team and when we lose, we lose as a team. For me, I just try to come out here and try to be a professional and do whatever coach asks me to do. Whether it’s play the ‘5’ play the ‘3,’ play the ‘4.’ I’m just trying to do everything I can to win. It’s as simple as that.” Washington was a late scratch for Wednesday’s game against the Wizards due to right foot discomfort, the Hornets announced (via Twitter).

Washington Accepts New Bench Role

November 21st, 2023 at 6:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Miles Bridges back in the lineup on Monday, P.J. Washington came off the bench for the first time since the 2021/22 season. However, it didn’t come as a surprise. Hornets coach Steve Clifford and Washington had been discussing the possibility for awhile. Washington will continue to get a steady diet of minutes. “PJ and I have been talking about this ever since Miles came back. So, he’s still going to play,” Clifford told Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “His minutes won’t change. PJ will play just as many minutes as he was before, but we have to get to playing groups like we were talking about before the game. And so they’re going to play together, too. PJ is all about the team. He’s extremely team-oriented. He grew up in a basketball family. He has no problems with it, and again, this has been something that’s been discussed since Miles came back.”