Eric Gordon’s nightmare season continues.
It began with the young shooting guard being shipped from the Los Angeles Clippers to the New Orleans Hornets as the key piece in return for Chris Paul.
After making the game-winning shot in a season-opening victory over Phoenix, Gordon sat out four games with a bruised knee. He played once more and has not seen any action since.
When the extension deadline rolled around, Gordon and agent Rob Pelinka could not get a deal from the Hornets, who are owned by the NBA. The league has made no secret about limiting the team’s expenses to make it more attractive to a potential buyer – none of whom have come forward.
On Monday night, the Hornets announced that Gordon will need arthroscopic surgery on his knee and will miss another six weeks, bringing his potential return to the cusp of April.
“After consulting with our medical staff, we concluded that surgery was the best route and in the best interest of Eric for the long term. We had hoped with rest and rehab, Eric’s knee would have healed,” Hornets GM Dell Demps said in a statement. “Eric is eager to return to the court and we are confident Hornet fans will get to see him soon.”
If by “soon” you mean before the first pitch of baseball season, well, yeah, sure.
The Hornets improved to 5-23 with Monday’s 86-80 win over Utah. They had lost 17 of their previous 18 games.