Hornets' Clifford: Vonleh 'not even close to being ready to play'

Noah Vonleh's sports hernia may have cost him substantially more than six preseason games.

The ninth overall pick in this year's draft underwent surgery to repair the injury in early September, limiting him to non-contact work for the first two weeks of training camp. He made his preseason debut Monday and had a decent showing in his first NBA action, scoring four points with four rebounds and two steals in 19 minutes.

As far as Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford is concerned, though, the pre-camp setback has Vonleh well behind the eight ball entering the regular season.

"He's not even close to being ready to play," Clifford said Tuesday, suggesting Vonleh may not find himself in the rotation until mid-season.

That may seem a harsh evaluation after just one preseason game, but that's kind of the issue. Clifford is coaching a team with its sights set on a playoff spot, maybe even home-court advantage in the first round, and Vonleh hasn't had the opportunity to prove himself worthy of a rotation spot. 

It doesn't help that Vonleh entered the draft as somewhat of a raw, longer-term project to begin with, and could have used a thorough camp more than most.

Instead, the Hornets appear set to lean on Marvin Williams as a stretch-four on a permanent basis. The team is deep at center - Al Jefferson is backed up by Bismack Biyombo and Cody Zeller - but a lack of depth at the four may lead to some funky lineups. It could also lead to Clifford changing his mind earlier than mid-season, if Vonleh can prove his mettle in limited play and in practice.