LaMelo Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle in Monday's game against the Detroit Pistons.

Ball missed a portion of the first part of the season with a left ankle injury.

Ball's third NBA season is now almost certainly over after playing 35 games and averaging 23.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 8.5 assists.

The Charlotte Hornets are signing Bryce McGowens to a four-year, $7.4 million contract. McGowens had been playing with the Hornets this season on a Two-Way contract.

McGowens was a candidate to be converted as he's out of NBA days on his Two-Way deal. He's been a regular rotation player for Steve Clifford over the last two months.

McGowens was selected with the 10th pick of the second round at the 2022 NBA Draft. The Hornets acquired McGowens' rights in a draft night trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In 26 NBA games, the 6-foot-6 wing has averaged 4.1 points and shot 36.4%.

Miles Bridges has missed the entirety of the 2022-23 NBA season after pleading no contest to domestic violence charges. Those charges stemmed from allegations that Bridges assaulted his girlfriend in front of their two children in June.

Bridges attended the Michigan State-Indiana game in East Lansing, Michigan on Tuesday and told The Associated Press that his return to the NBA might be coming soon.

“It’s been a long process,” Bridges said. “I might be back in March.”

The NBA has yet to levy any punishment on Bridges, because he remains an unsigned free agent. The Charlotte Hornets control Bridges' restricted free agent rights. When asked about Bridges earlier in February, Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak gave no indication of what the team's plans are with 6-foot-7 forward.

“The NBA is conducting an investigation and I don’t know when that is going to end,” Kupchak said. “When it ends, we’ll have more information and we’ll go from there. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what kind of impact that had on our team this year.”

Reggie Jackson has agreed to a buyout with the Charlotte Hornets and plans to sign with the Denver Nuggets once he clears waivers.

Jackson was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Hornets at the deadline.

The Nuggets have a need for depth at point guard following their trade of Bones Hyland to the Clippers. 

Reggie Jackson and the Charlotte Hornets will likely agree to a contract buyout, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The Hornets traded for Jackson from the Los Angeles Clippers at the deadline.

Jackson will be one of the top point guard options on the buyout market and he will prioritize playing for a contender. 

Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report indicated on Thursday evening that the Phoenix Suns and Jackson will likely have mutual interest. 

The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed acquire Mason Plumlee from the Charlotte Hornets for Reggie Jackson. Plumlee is on a $9 million expiring contract. 

Plumlee gives the Clippers a second big man behind Ivica Zubac.

The Clippers have remade their backcourt in sending out Jackson and John Wall while acquiring Bones Hyland and Eric Gordon. The Clippers have also been linked with Russell Westbrook, who is expected to be bought out. 

The Sacramento Kings are interested in Mason Plumlee, sources told Marc Stein of Substack.

The Kings have made both Richaun Holmes and Alex Len available as they look for defensive upgrades.

The team has also been linked with a possible move for Matisse Thybulle. 

The Los Angeles Lakers have held trade discussions surrounding Russell Westbrook with the Charlotte Hornets and the Utah Jazz, sources told Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports.

Any deal with the Jazz would most likely include Mike Conley, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt.

The Lakers, who are still searching for ways to improve the roster, are reluctant to include both their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in a trade.

Fischer adds that the Heat have little interest in a swap involving Westbrook and Kyle Lowry.

Westbrook has also been mentioned as part of a trade package involving Kyrie Irving. 

It came as a bit of a surprise when the Denver Nuggets were reported to be shopping Bones Hyland in trade talks. Hyland is an up-and-coming, which made it surprising that Denver would consider moving him.

However, Hyland reportedly has had friction with the Nuggets coaching staff. The second-year guard would like a bigger role, but Denver has concerns about Hyland's ability to hold up defensively.

One team reportedly interested in the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wolves front office leader Tim Connelly originally drafted Hyland when he led the Nuggets basketball operations. There remains some bitterness from Denver toward Connelly for how he left the Nuggets for the Wolves this past summer. That could be a holdup towards a deal.

The Charlotte Hornets are also interested in Hyland. If Charlotte moves on from some of their veterans, they would be looking to rebuild their team around LaMelo Ball with younger players.