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"If I had to guess it would be Saturday against Charlotte,’’ Williams said before Wednesday night’s game against the Orlando Magic. "A lot of that is me, and we want to make sure that we bring him back when he’s in a lot better shape. He’s spent so much time rehabbing and getting his quad stronger, but we have to make sure he’s in a good place before he comes back.’’ New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

John Reid: Hornets' Eric Gordon may make his debut on Saturday at Charlotte, according to Monty Williams. Story coming shortly on NOLA.com Twitter @JohnReidTP

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

Jim Eichenhofer: Eric Gordon on 1st practice: "I feel good. I think all it is now is the conditioning part. Once I overcome that, I'll be out there playing." Twitter @Jim_Eichenhofer

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

Jim Eichenhofer: Gordon: "I just started running 2 or 3 weeks ago, now I have to get back into game shape and really get my timing right. It will come soon." Twitter @Jim_Eichenhofer

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

New Orleans coach Monty Williams is asking Hornets fans for a favor regarding Eric Gordon, who plans to return to practice next week after rehabbing a knee injury: Give him a second chance. "Our city has been a city of second chances," Williams told Yahoo! Sports. "This situation should be the same way. Eric said some things. But if you polled most of the people in our city about the things they said at [age] 23, I'm sure they had some regrets. We want our city to embrace him because that's who we are." Yahoo! Sports

New Orleans Hornets, Monty Williams, Eric Gordon 

Gordon told Yahoo! Sports he regretted those words, but there was a reason he was so cavalier. "Of course I did [regret it]," Gordon said. "But that was the only way to push the table on the Hornets. To get a deal done I was willing to negotiate. My agent and I were going through negotiations with them. But they weren't leaning into really giving me one. So I had to ride with Phoenix and from Day 1 they weren't playing games." Yahoo! Sports

New Orleans Hornets, Phoenix Suns, Eric Gordon 

Gordon says he has no ill will toward the city of New Orleans or its fans and he has not asked for a trade. His major concern is about the direction of the franchise after struggling to a 21-45 record during the 2011-12 season. The Hornets currently have the Western Conference's worst record at 5-20. "I just want to get back to playing," Gordon said. "Of course, I like New Orleans. I just want to make sure things are on the right track now. The team is having a terrible year so far … "I just got to see the overall picture of what the future is going to be like. We can be possibly good. But it's going to be a long venture. I have no concerns about the city." Yahoo! Sports

New Orleans Hornets, Eric Gordon 

The New Orleans Hornets will get injured shooting guard Eric Gordon back on the bench for moral support Saturday night when the team plays the Indiana Pacers in New Orleans Arena. But Coach Monty Williams said here Friday that Gordon's first game action isn't imminent."He's been doing so much rehab now I think it's a matter of him getting his game condition back," Williams said after the team's morning shoot-around in preparation for Friday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs. "The only way to do that is to play. But there's some things he can do to build a base before he steps on the floor so that's what (the Hornets training and strength and conditioning staff) will be doing over the next few days." New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

Gordon said his right knee problems stemmed from having both a patella tendon disorder and bone bruise. It’s the same knee that Gordon had arthroscopic surgery on last February, which forced him to miss all but nine games after he was acquired in the blockbuster Chris Paul trade from the Los Angeles Clippers. "I had a lot of pain and all throughout my knee cap,’’ Gordon said before Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers in which he watched from the bench. "It shut down all my muscles around my leg from my calf to even my quads. So that’s what I was dealing with and if I would have kept on going I would have had to undergo possible surgery.’’ New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

Gordon tweeted Monday that he will be returning to New Orleans after this week and that he is excited about getting back with the team. Coach Monty Williams confirmed that they will find out this weekend how close Gordon is toward returning. ``I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks, so we'll find out this weekend,'' Williams said. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

Steve Kyler: Any news on Eric Gordon ---> Hornets expect him back around Christmas, not entertaining trades. Twitter @stevekylerNBA

New Orleans Hornets, Trade, Eric Gordon 

Marc J. Spears: FWIW, NO G Eric Gordon ineligible to be traded to PHX until 7/14/13. POR F Nicolas Batum ineligible to be traded to MIN until 7/18/13. Twitter @SpearsNBAYahoo

New Orleans Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Trade, Eric Gordon, Nicolas Batum 

Money doesn't bring happiness: The Hornets' Eric Gordon got $58 million last summer when New Orleans matched Phoenix's offer sheet, but is said to be disgruntled as he's still recovering from a knee injury. New York Daily News

New Orleans Hornets, Eric Gordon 

New Orleans Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon is making progress in his rehabilitation work in Los Angeles to recover from a sore right knee, according to the team. Gordon was sent to Los Angeles a month ago to get more personalized rehabilitation work to help in his knee recovery and to strengthen his quad muscles. Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman said Thursday that Gordon’s quad muscles have strengthened to 65 percent, but there remains no set timetable on his return. "When he had soreness in his knee that limited him from working out on that leg, it obviously weakened the quad muscle,’’ Kaufman said. "He was sent to Los Angeles to undergo intensive rehab on a daily basis. He shows up at 8:30 in the morning and works until 3 in the afternoon.'' New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

At the beginning of this month, Gordon received a second opinion from a physician in Chicago who prescribed continued rehab and estimated Gordon would miss four to six weeks "It's getting better; progress is getting better, but there's no straight-up timetable," Gordon said. "The main thing is things have been getting better. They've got a plan for me and the main thing is the pain level is going down. Just trying to get back to 100 percent before I get back out there playing." New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

Asked what the physician in Chicago determined was wrong with the knee, which was scoped Feb. 14 to clean out loose cartilage particles, Gordon said: "It's almost like a disorder. There was a little bit of a bone bruise, and, you know, kind of like some of these other guys like (Andrew) Bynum and (Danny) Granger. Luckily my process will be shorter than that." Gordon said he did not know the medical name for the condition. Gordon said he is experiencing no swelling. "That was the main thing," he said. "I'm just fine. Everything has been better. The main thing is to get better before I get back playing." New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

"The fact is the doctor said it was OK to play," Love said. "The doctor also said you're back two, three weeks early. For me, I have to keep strengthening it, keep shooting the basketball, keep working on range of motion and keep working on my conditioning. "It's prohibiting me, it's just not natural. We're not even at six weeks yet. The hand has taken a few good hits. I don't think we're risking much. It just needs to heal, and I need to get more and more shots up. I'm just not in the rhythm yet." Minneapolis Star-Tribune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

New Orleans Hornets general manager Dell Demps said Friday night that injured shooting guard Eric Gordon was "doing everything in his power to get back" as he rehabilitates an unspecified right knee ailment away from the team in Los Angeles. "We're getting reports," Demps said. "He's working out. He's doing everything in his power to get back. I know he's eager to get back and play. And we're just supporting him and hoping that his rehab goes well." Asked if he could say what a Chicago physician, who examined Gordon two weeks ago, said was wrong inside Gordon's aching knee, Demps said, "No." New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

New Orleans Hornets injured shooting guard Eric Gordon will undergo more personalized and intensive rehabilitation workouts this week in Los Angeles to help in his recovery from recurring problems with his right knee, the team announced Wednesday. The Hornets and their medical staff arranged for Gordon to intensify his rehab regimen. The prognosis is still in the four to six week range for his return, according to team officials. Gordon missed all of the preseason and the first three games because of a sore right knee. It's the same knee that forced Gordon to miss all but nine games last season after requiring arthroscopic surgery last February to remove cartilage particles. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles, Injuries, Eric Gordon 

It continues to be a great mystery just what kind of "damage" rests inside of Gordon's right knee, which was cleaned out arthroscopically on Feb. 14 during the lockout-shortened season. The injury cost Gordon all but nine of the 66 games last year. He admitted last week he "sorta" suffered a setback between the time he participated in the U.S. Olympic Team trials in Las Vegas in early July and the time he reported for training camp on Oct. 1. What kind of setback hasn't been disclosed. And we don't know exactly what the still unidentified physican Gordon visited last week in Chicago discovered in his examination. All we know is Gordon still hasn't seen the floor. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Injuries, Eric Gordon