Kelly Oubre Jr. will miss 4-6 weeks after hand surgery

Charlotte Hornets star forward Kelly Oubre Jr. will undergo surgery on a torn ligament in his left hand and miss four-to-six weeks.

In another brutal injury break for the Charlotte Hornets, star forward Kelly Oubre Jr. will undergo surgery on a torn ligament in his left hand and miss four-to-six weeks, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old suffered the injury in the first week of the season and has been playing through the pain on his shooting hand, per Charania. Oubre is averaging a career high 20.2 points this season, and his absence will do no favors for the lowly 10-28 Hornets.

The team is already missing small forward Cody Martin, who has been out since early November after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee, as well as Gordon Hayward, who is day-to-day after leaving the team's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers with hamstring soreness.

This is after missing LaMelo Ball for a good portion of the season; he missed the Hornets' first 13 games as he recovered from a left ankle sprain he suffered in the preseason, before re-injuring the same ankle in mid-November, costing him another month.

Oubre's injury is probably the most significant for the Hornets, as he was the second-leading scorer on the team. It's less than ideal as Oubre is a prime trade candidate ahead of the NBA's Feb. 9 deadline. Charlotte looks to be more destined for the draft lottery than the playoffs at this point, and Oubre's scoring touch could certainly help any number of contenting teams looking to add a reliable scorer.

Oubre is on an expiring $12.6 million deal, which makes the prospect of him being traded even more likely. Unless Charlotte plans on re-signing him in the offseason, getting something of value in return on the trade market would make a lot of sense.

It will be a wait-and-see game for the Hornets to see how Kelly Oubre Jr. recovers post-surgery, but without him, it's hard to see the team climbing up the standings in a competitive Eastern Conference.

If the Hornets keep losing and decide to trade Oubre, it would certainly help their chances of landing the top selection, and Victor Wembanyama, in next year's NBA Draft.