Miles Bridges scores career-high 41 points. Was it one of his final acts for the Hornets?

This is a different version of boxing out.

Screenshots, story links and anything else trending on online involving NBA trade rumors about at least one member or the Charlotte Hornets haven’t made their way in his direction yet.

“Nah,” center Nick Richards said, “my friends know better.”

Still, it has to be difficult to ignore the noise that’s growing louder by the day — the NBA trade deadline is Thursday — and certainly isn’t slowing down after the Hornets dropped their eighth straight game, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers 124-118 at Spectrum Center on Monday night.

With LaMelo Ball sidelined again and a lack of clarity when he’ll suit up — “He can do stuff, but he doesn’t feel comfortable. He just has a lot of pain,” coach Steve Clifford said — the Hornets are among the teams looking to flip some of their players for notable returns before 3 p.m. Thursday.

It’s a byproduct of a disappointing season that’s now required 24 different starting lineups, a proverbial waving of the white flag as the focus shifts toward fixing the ills leading into another extremely important summer.

Buckle up for what could be a wild week loaded with chatter about Miles Bridges, PJ Washington — and even Richards. Or basically anyone not named Ball, Brandon Miller or Mark Williams.

“It’s hard,” Clifford said. “It’s a hard time for the players. Some of them have families. NBA players obviously have great lives, but that part to me is very hard. And I’m sure maybe they talk to each other or whatever.

“Frankly, if you want to get negative, two assistants brought me in stuff today and there’s some stuff out there that’s just so totally untrue, that’s there’s no conversations. It’s hard for them because there are so many rumors and I would say —and I don’t know this for a fact — but I would say a good percentage of it has not even been discussed. So, it’s hard for them.”

Sifting through it all can be mentally taxing, but the Hornets (10-39) certainly aren’t ignoring many incoming calls about some of their desirable pieces.

Multiple teams have inquired about Washington’s availability and the Hornets are fielding more calls on him than any other player, per league sources, even though they aren’t necessarily actively shopping him. Washington, like Richards, has an economical contract that’s attractive to others, making him a hot commodity because any team that acquires Washington would have the versatile big man locked up for the next two seasons.

Washington is one of the highest paid reserves in the NBA and his role has been shifted frequently in his four seasons with the Hornets, forcing him to constantly adapt. If traded, Washington likely would come off the bench in his new locale.

As for Bridges, who’s already told the Observer he doesn’t want to go anywhere else and prefers to stay with the Hornets, a league source indicated at least three teams are interested in potentially acquiring the 25-year-old. But given he can choose his next preferred destination since he possesses a no-trade clause as part of the one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer, Bridges’ situation is the more dicey because Charlotte isn’t in complete control of the combo forward’s future.

His pending legal case is also something any suitors must consider. Bridges is due in Mecklenberg County court on Feb. 20 for a hearing that involves an alleged violation of a domestic violence protective order.

On the basketball floor, Bridges has been one of the Hornets’ top players. His 41 points against the Lakers marked the second time in his last four games he’s posted at least 30, showing he hasn’t hit a midseason wall despite not playing for the entire 2022-23 campaign. Of late, he’s formed a nice tandem with Miller, who’s totaled 146 points over his last five games, representing the most by a rookie in any five-game span this season and second only to Alonzo Mourning’s 150.

Bridges still isn’t concerned about the trade talk surrounding him or the team.

“Just worry about our next game,” Bridges said. “We play the Raptors next and that’s all you worry about. If you worry about outside noise, it’s going to cloud our game. We are doing our best to get a win. We are trying to be competitive. Everybody is locked in. It’s kind of like coach said, we are just kind of undermanned right now. But that’s no excuse. Everybody is coming in, ready to play. We are all NBA players, so we’ve got to come and compete every night.”

Sounds like the same mentality Richards, who has two years at $10 million left on his deal, is adopting.

“I’m just sticking to my game,” Richards said. “I’m doing what I do best, I’m doing what I love — I’m hooping. I’m not really paying attention to it. Whether it’s here or somewhere else, this is what I’ve been dreaming about my whole entire life. So, whether it’s here or somewhere else, I just want to hoop.”