Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball will miss the remainder of the season as he’s expected to undergo two surgeries to address a wrist and ankle injury, per ESPN. Ball has missed time this season due to the ankle injury and has been hampered by lower-body injuries through the first five years of his career.
He’ll now head for two more surgeries to fix these issues and will miss Charlotte’s final nine games of the regular season. Looking past this season, Ball’s constant injury issues are concerning for a Charlotte team that views him as its franchise centerpiece. He’s only played 60+ games once in his career, which was in his sophomore season when he was named an All-Star. Since then, he’s averaged 35 games a season over the last three years, a sobering reality for the Hornets.
Injuries to Ball and other Hornets players completely derailed any hope of success this season in Charlotte. Brandon Miller quickly had a season-ending injury early, Grant Williams was also ruled out for the season, and Tre Mann, who appeared to be taking quite the leap in his fourth year, was also ruled out.
Injuries have been the overarching storyline for a Hornets team that hasn’t been able to get out of the basement of the league for the better part of the last decade. The one silver lining on the horizon is that Charlotte will have a strong chance at landing Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg if they land the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery. Getting Flagg would be a franchise-altering move for the Hornets and would instantly brighten this team’s future outlook. A trio of Flagg, Ball and Miller would be enticing, in addition to the promising depth the Hornets have to surround them with.
But this all hinges on landing Flagg and Ball’s health. He’s amongst the most polarizing players in the league, as many view him as an empty stats scorer with little impact on winning. There may be a bit of truth in there, but there’s no denying Ball’s elite ability to score in various ways. He’s one of the most exciting players to watch and was on the verge of making his second All-Star appearance after leading all East guards in fan voting. Ball missed the cut for the roster, and things just went downhill from there for him and the Hornets, who have mustered up an 18-54 record, good for third-worst in the league.
This season may have already been lost prior to Ball’s surgery news, but at least now the Hornets can focus on preparing for the draft and getting guys healthy for next season.
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