Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward will be out indefinitely due to a sprained left ankle. X-rays revealed no fractures, but an MRI confirmed sprained ligaments.

Hayward recently returned from a six-game absence due to a previous sprained ankle. He was re-injured early the Hornets loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday.

Charlotte has been on a slide with Hayward out of the lineup or limited. The Hornets have lost five straight and seven of their last nine games. That's seen them drop to ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

LaMelo Ball and Dejounte Murray have been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as injury replacements for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.  Ball will replace Kevin Durant and Murray will replace Draymond Green. 

In addition, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who was selected as an All-Star reserve, will replace Durant as a starter.

Ball, the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, has earned his first NBA All-Star selection.  In his second NBA season, Ball is averaging 19.6 points, 7.5 assists, 7.1 rebounds and 1.47 steals in 47 games.  

This is also the first NBA All-Star selection for Murray, who is in his fifth NBA season.  He is averaging career highs of 19.6 points, 9.2 assists, 8.4 rebounds and 2.06 steals in 47 games.

As the Charlotte Hornets fell apart in the second half of a home loss to the Miami Heat, drama played out on their bench. Head coach James Borrego and rookie guard James Bouknight had an argument, which resulted in Bouknight being sent to the locker room.

Borrego seemed to stay something to Bouknight, who stood up to challenge his coach. An assistant coach had to hold Bouknight back, as Borrego turned his attention back to the floor. A Hornets staffer then led Bouknight to the locker room for the remainder of the contest.

Postgame, Borrego acknowledge the incident without getting into specifics.

“Obviously, we were a little frustrated in the third quarter, early fourth,” Borrego said. “We got a little emotional there. Beyond that, I’ll leave it there.”

When asked if Bouknight was upset about a lack of playing time, Borrego empathized with the rookie.

“He obviously wants to play,” Borrego said. “I get that. He’s a kid we believe in, we trust in. We’re going to try to find more minutes for him, more time.”