The Hornets didn’t provided a timeline for Gordon Hayward‘s recovery when they announced on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with sprained ligaments in his left ankle, simply stating in their press release that he’ll be out indefinitely.
However, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer hears from a league source that Hayward could be sidelined for upward of a month while he recovers from the injury and goes through a rehab process.
With Hayward potentially unavailable until March, Boone contends (via Twitter) that making the right trade at the deadline is even more important for the Hornets, who are in increasing danger of missing the playoffs after a five-game losing streak dropped them to ninth in the East. In a separate story for The Observer, Boone identifies several possible trade candidates for Charlotte, focusing primarily on centers.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Rookie Hornets guard James Bouknight downplayed his Saturday sideline confrontation with head coach James Borrego, referring to it as a “misunderstanding,” according to Steve Reed of The Associated Press. “We talked through it and it’s all good,” said Bouknight, who is not facing any disciplinary action from the team.
- Josh Robbins and The Athletic and Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington each take a look at what could be next for the Wizards, with Bradley Beal set to undergo season-ending wrist surgery. According to Robbins, Washington’s intentions of signing Beal to a long-term deal this summer when he can reach free agency haven’t changed.
- Chris Kirschner of The Athletic lays out what he would do at the trade deadline if he were running the Hawks, identifying Derrick White and Kenrich Williams as realistic trade targets and making the case for offering protected first-round picks for both players. An earlier report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggested the Hawks may end up standing pat at Thursday’s deadline.