The Charlotte Hornets are 4-12 and have lost LaMelo Ball to a sprained ankle again — just three games into his return from the same injury — after he stepped on a fan’s foot chasing a loose ball. Add that last season’s leading scorer Miles Bridges being away from the team, very likely for the entire season, due to domestic violence charges and things feel bleak in Charlotte.
Which in turn has general managers of playoff teams around the league eyeing the Hornets veterans as trade assets — Terry Rozier, Mason Plumlee, maybe Gordon Hayward or youngster P.