Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s shoulder injury?
It’s bad.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will need shoulder surgery and be sidelined six months, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 5, 2015
This is devastating news for the Hornets, who are trying to return to the playoffs after a disappointing season. Kidd-Gilchrist is a lockdown defender and a huge piece of this team.
Charlotte doesn’t have many great options behind him. Jeremy Lamb, Troy Daniels or P.J. Hairston would be in over their heads as starters. Marvin Williams could start at small forward with Nicolas Batum at shooting guard, but Williams is better as a small-ball power forward.
This is obviously also a huge setback for Kidd-Gilchrist individually, but at least he locked in a four-year, $52 million contract extension this summer. I think he could’ve commanded more, but this is where that security comes in handy.
There are no redeeming factors for the Hornets. They’re firmly in win-now mode, and they’ll have to do it for nearly the entire season without one of their best players.