If healthy, Hornets’ Cody Martin could be key piece for Charles Lee. When will he return?

Most already trickled out of the gym, headed to the locker room and other locales.

A few stranglers stay behind, hoisting jumpers or working on some other aspect of their game. The usual participants can vary at this juncture, in part because of the roster flux and the number of players who are doing everything they can to stick around.

And on this particular day, one of the typical holdovers isn’t among the final players to leave the Novant Health Training Center, mostly due to injury. Cody Martin is navigating his way back from injuries he picked up on the final day of training camp at Duke University last week, the latest pesky problem the Charlotte Hornets swingman he’s been forced to deal with.

“Just a basketball play,” said Martin, who is 6 feet, 6 inches tall said. “It’s unfortunate. I’m optimistic. I’m good. I’m just trying to figure it out for now and making sure that we are all on the same page going forward. But I’m in good spirits to be honest with you. I’m staying even-keeled.”

No one would probably blame Martin if he wanted to pull out his hair in agony or let out a primal screen in frustration. He’s dealt with a litany of ailments over the last two years, a maddening stretch that began with arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in 2022.

But he insists he’s not going to be shelved for a lengthy period. The Hornets list Martin as day-to-day and that’s the extent of any sort of update on when he’ll be back in the mix.

Once certain hurdles have been cleared and all the boxes checked off by the team’s new health and performance staff, it will be all systems go. Just don’t ask him when that will be.

“The reality of it is we are not setting a time on it because it’s the body, so I can’t really rush it,” Martin said. “I have a great staff here and they’ve done nothing but take care of me since I’ve got here, so they are doing a good job of us being staying on the same page and taking the necessary steps moving forward whenever that is when we both have a mutual agreement, then I’m good to go.

“And I’m looking forward to it. I’m still working every day, staying in shape and things. So, whenever it’s time it’s time. But I’m optimistic for sure.”

The Hornets could use a healthy version of Martin.

Considered a key part of the team’s makeup, leading to the hierarchy inking him to a four-year, $31 million deal in 2022, Martin has been a forgotten man on occasion due to a bad stretch of luck with injuries, keeping him out of all but 35 games over the past two seasons.

Still, he has a chance to flourish under coach Charles Lee, who’s dedication to attention on that side of the ball caters to Martin’s strengths. It should be a relative match, and Martin is eager to be unleashed in Lee’s system.

“When I’m on the floor I feel like I make our team better in a variety of ways,” Martin said. “Whether that’s on the defensive end, creating space for our offenses, just knowing what’s going on. Being a veteran on the floor that knows what’s going on.

“All those things play a factor in how well a team orchestrates when they are out there on the court together, and I believe that I bring that every time I step onto the floor. I’m confident in myself and my team and my staff is confident in myself as well. So, it’s just continue to work, trusting each other, knowing how much work we’ve all put in to be here, and just looking to collectively do something special and continue to build as a team.”

He’s thoroughly enjoying the methods Lee’s entire staff is utilizing.

“I looked forward to just playing in general and they came in here and brought a lot of energy,” Martin said. “It’s a lot of new faces, but just watching them work and seeing the time they put in here, how much things have changed in a way. It’s just small things in terms of their approach is different.

“So, on our end it’s an adjustment to that as players. But we have great people in here, great energy, great staff; So ,I’m looking forward to getting back on the court with my guys. …. I’m always looking forward to getting on the floor even though it’s been a while since I’ve consistently been on the floor. I don’t take that for granted at all. That’s why I come into work every single day.”

In the meantime, he’ll keep maintaining that positive mindset, shaking off the naysayers and doubters who may think he’s not the player he once was prior to landing his current pact.

“That’s part of it,” Martin said. “I’ve still got to be me at the end of the day, and when I play, I play hard. Things happen, unfortunately....

“Certain things you cant really rush. It is what it is. I’m still getting my work in and and I’ll be ready whenever that is, whenever we find that time, whenever it is the right time, I’ll be ready.”