LaMelo Ball looked like the franchise player the Charlotte Hornets desperately needed at the start of his career. An All-Star season at age-20 and flashes of elite shot-making and playmaking positioned Ball as one of the NBA’s brightest young players, but nagging ankle injuries, undisciplined play, and one losing season after another have dissipated any goodwill between the organization and their talented point guard.
Now it appears both sides are ready for a divorce. Ball is “open” to being traded, according to a Thursday report from Kelly Iko of Yahoo! Sports. Iko reports that the Hornets are “increasingly hesitant” about Ball as a long-term building block. Ball is still only 24 years, but he hasn’t lived up to his max contract so far, which includes $130.6 million owed to him over the next three seasons after this year. Ball was included on our list of seven NBA stars who could be traded next, and now it appears there’s even more urgency to get something done.
The Hornets are quickly becoming Kon Knueppel’s team, with the No. 4 overall pick looking like the early front-runner for NBA Rookie of the Year. Ball’s playmaking should be a natural fit with Knueppel’s off-ball activity and knockdown shooting. With the two players on the floor, Charlotte has a +3 net-rating, per DataBallr. When Ball sits and Knueppel is playing, the Hornets post a -7.2 net-rating. There’s a chance this pairing can still work, but it requires Ball to finally stay healthy and start buying in to head coach Charles Lee’s concepts.
Beyond availability, the big issues with Ball are his on-ball defense, his turnovers, and his lack of scoring efficiency. Opponents shoot 11.6 percent better than their normal field goal percentage when Ball contests their shot, per DataBallr. His 15 percent turnover rate is simply too high, and he’s also shooting seven points below league-average scoring efficiency. Ball can get up three-pointers with the best of them at more than 14 attempts per 100 possessions, but he’s only making 29.8 percent of his triples so far this season, which just isn’t good enough.
If Ball and the Hornets really are headed for a breakup, he makes sense for bad teams who don’t get lottery luck in the 2026 draft. That means Ball feels more likely to traded this summer rather than at the deadline, but there should still be a market for a player this young and this talented if Charlotte is primarily motivated to get off his salary. Here’s three fake Ball trades that could make sense for both sides.
LaMelo Ball trade idea to the Clippers
The Clippers are the biggest disappointment of the early season, and their struggles are bad news for NBA contenders everywhere: LA owes its first round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder this year, meaning the NBA’s best team could add another blue chip prospect. The Clippers have been positioning themselves for max cap space in 2027, and trading for Ball would eat into that. At the same time, he’s the type of electric young creator who could carry the franchise out of the James Harden and Kawhi Leonard era, and perhaps save them some embarrassment from giving up a top pick this year.
A top-10 protected 2030 first-rounder isn’t too much to give up for the Clippers, but at least it’s a legit asset for the Hornets to gain in return for their former franchise star. Add in a couple seconds and some expiring or soon-to-be expiring salary, and maybe there’s a deal here.
LaMelo Ball trade idea to the Wizards
The Wizards will have no choice but to make a bold move like this if they fail to land in the top-3 of the 2026 NBA Draft lottery. Washington remains far, far away from contention, and with a shaky 2027 draft looming, continuing to tank doesn’t really make sense. The Wizards could thread the needle by trading for Ball now and still hoping for lottery luck by dealing Khris Middleton’s expiring salary along with the No. 30 pick in the 2026 draft, and a young prospect like Will Riley for a potential All-Star like Ball.
The pick included here is the Thunder’s 2026 selection, so it will likely be the last pick in the first-round. Riley was taken No. 21 overall in the 2025 draft, but remains far away from being a contributor. If the Wizards really like Riley, they can sub in another prospect like A.J. Johnson or anyone else from their young core, really. This trade would allow the Hornets to say they got a first-round back for Ball while also immediately wiping his salary off the books with Middleton set to expire. The Wizards just have no hope right now, and if Ball could live up to his talent level again, he could be exactly what Washington needs to inject some excitement into the franchise.
LaMelo Ball trade idea to the Nets
The Nets are in an even worse position than the Hornets in my view because they don’t own their 2027 or 2029 first-round draft picks, making them even more desperate to get lottery luck this year. Brooklyn had five first-round picks in the 2025 draft, and it was immediately apparent that they didn’t do a very good job with them. Maybe one or two of the Nets’ rookies will pop eventually, but I wouldn’t count on it. Taking a swing on a wild but talented player like Ball may be all they have left if they don’t land Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer or A.J. Dybantsa in the 2026 draft.
This is an interesting package going back to Charlotte. The Knicks’ 2027 pick is unprotected, and while New York should be very good, you never know. Claxton has lost some shine over the last couple years but could still be a decent long-term center option in Charlotte along with standout rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner. Mann is way overpaid on that deal, but maybe they could use it as a salary match in a future draft. There’s probably too much bad money coming back in this deal for Charlotte without enough draft assets. It’s bleak for the Nets right now.
