Eric Gordon should return to game action at some point during the Hornets' current road trip.

Gordon underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Feb. 14 to remove cartilage and other debris.

Gordon has increased the intensity of his workouts in recent weeks.

“I’ve been working out hard, like I wasn’t injured,” Gordon said. “At this point, it’s almost to the point where I should be getting back to play very soon.”

Blake Griffin delivered a hard foul on Trevor Ariza in Monday's game between the Clippers and Hornets, which was called a flagrant 1 foul.

Griffin was knocked to the ground last week by Jason Smith and he appeared to seek retribution in this return matchup. Smith did not play due to suspension.

"Man, I get fouled 10 times harder than that and they call a regular foul," said Griffin. "That wasn't a flagrant foul. I'm going to appeal that one."

Griffin glared at the Hornets' bench following the foul.

"Yeah, I walked back because they stood up like it was going to be something," Griffin said. "There was nothing, man, and you can publish that."

The Hornets were hoping Xavier Henry's D-League stint would make him more aggressive offensively, seeking to attack the defense off the dribble.

“Playing with those guys made me realize that, OK, I’ve just got to be aggressive,’’ Henry said. “When I came back, I wanted to be confident so I could really show my game instead of sitting back and letting the game come to me. I just had to go out there and push the issue.’’

Henry has scored more than 10 points in his past two games, the first time accomplishing the feat this season.

Jason Smith received a two-game suspension for his flagrant foul 2 against Blake Griffin in Thursday's game.

Smith will miss Saturday's game against the Spurs and Monday's game against the Clippers.

“We have to play them a couple of more times, so I apologized to him,’’ said Smith on Thursday. “Obviously, the Clippers are a very high-octane offense playing at the rim. Blake and DeAndre Jordan are incredible athletes, but we just wanted to come out there and play aggressive and not back down.

“But it’s just one of those things that we had to be mentally tough when they got an ESPN highlight. You’ve got to move on from that play and go to next one.’’

Chris Kaman didn't seek a buyout following the deadline because sources say he was more interested in keeping his minutes and usage high with the Hornets as he enters free agency.

If Kaman had reached a buyout with the Hornets, Miami would have been at the top of his list.

Kaman is in the final season of his current contract.

The New Orleans Hornets have claimed Chris Johnson off waivers.

Johnson was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers on Mar. 15.

Johnson played collegiately at LSU.

The Springfield Armor have reacquired center Jeff Foote. 

Foote (7-0, 265, Cornell) returns to the Armor after earning his first-career Call-Up with the New Orleans Hornets. He made his NBA debut on March 9 against the Denver Nuggets, scoring 4 points and grabbing 4 rebounds in 23 minutes off the Hornets’ bench. In four games with New Orleans, Foote averaged 1.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 9.8 minutes.

The New Orleans Hornets have assigned Xavier Henry to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League.

Henry is in his second NBA season after being selected 12th overall by the Grizzlies in the 2010 NBA Draft out of the University of Kansas. He has appeared in 24 games for New Orleans this season, averaging 5.0 points and 1.9 rebounds.

The Warriors could have traded Brandon Rush, Kwame Brown and a second round pick to the Hornets for Chris Kaman, according to Ric Bucher while on KNBR Radio.

Golden State could have then had a chance to evaluate how Kaman played with a core of Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry and David Lee.

The Warriors instead traded Monta Ellis in a deal for Andrew Bogut.

Governor Bobby Jindal will announce that the State of Louisiana has reached an agreement in principle to keep the Hornets in New Orleans through at least 2024 with no escape clause, multiple sources confirmed.

There is also an NBA guarantee that another All-Star Game will be hosted.

The new lease will eliminate attendance benchmarks that could have triggered an escape clause in previous deals.

Terms of the lease will be accepted by a new owner when the NBA sells the team.