5:10 pm: For what it’s worth, Ball responded to this report (via Twitter) with a clown face emoji.
4:39 pm: After losing to Indiana on Wednesday, a defeat in which he was benched for the final 4:32 of the fourth quarter, LaMelo Ball has become “increasingly frustrated” with the Hornets and is open to being traded to a new team, multiple league sources tell Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports.
The Pacers entered Wednesday’s game with a 1-13 record and picked up their second victory of the season over the Hornets, who have dropped four straight and are now 4-11. Ball finished the game with 18 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes, but shot just 5-of-21 from the floor and committed six turnovers.
The third overall pick in the 2020 draft, Ball won the Rookie of the Year award in 2021 and was named to his first and only All-Star team in 2022. The 6’7″ point guard’s career has been derailed by a series of ankle injuries over the past few years, playing just 105 out of a possible 246 regular season games in the three seasons leading up to 2025/26.
Ball has gotten off to a rocky start this season, having missed six games due to a right ankle impingement and struggling with offensive efficiency. Still, Iko points out that Charlotte has been much better when Ball is playing and has struggled mightily when he’s not on the court.
According to Iko, one point of contention for Ball is his desire to play in a more uptempo offense — the Hornets currently rank 20th in the NBA in pace.
It sounds like the frustration goes both ways. Charlotte’s front office has grown “disillusioned” with Ball, no longer views him as a long-term cornerstone and is open to a trade as well, Iko reports.
As Iko writes, while Ball is still young and undeniably talented, it’s unclear how much interest he would generate if he’s made available, given his lengthy injury history, lucrative long-term contract, and “whispers” about the way he behaves on the court. Ball is on a maximum-salary deal which will pay him approximately $168.7MM over the next four years.
Someone’s jealous he’s getting outplayed by his rookie teammate?
Nah, it’s more the 4-11 thing
Surprised it took this long. Not sure what his trade value is with his talent & injury history
Seems like a similar situation to Anthony Davis: both injury prone, both high ceiling, both not a good fit for their current team.
Is he open to playing more than 1/3rd of the games a season?
Send him to Sacramento for Sabonis and others.
Do you think when he’s 65 with saggy skin and has some fat to spare he’ll regret making his body look like the underside of a a LA overpass?
You know a lot of 65 year olds who care how they look?
Highly overrated player. Good luck to team trading for him.
I still believe Anthony Davis is available… Dallas would be wise to flip him for Ball.
He’s clearly damaged goods. That ankle isn’t going to get more structurally sound, he’s had every treatment under the sun. It’s kind of sad. He’s a terrific player.
Are the Hornets equally frustrated and open to trading him?
Who says No
Cha gets- AD Exum
Dal- Gets Lamello Connaughton + 3 1st rders below
Gets its own 2027 pick back (so they’d have both their next 2 drafts back full)
Gets Mia’s 27 pick (protected 1-14 unprotected in 28 )
Gets the 2029 1st from Cle Utah or Minny least favorable (most likely in 20’s)
And 2 2031 2nd rders that Cha currently has 4 of
*Dallas trades Kyrie in summer
*Cha has all its own 1 st rd picks after the trade still in tow
1 1st rounder but you are over pricing AD with all his injuries.
I kind of like it for Dallas, but don’t like it at the same time.
Dallas can do better in terms of salary relief, but their own 2027 pick is tasty.
San Antonio picked 2nd two years after drafting Wemby, why can’t Dallas do the same 2 years after drafting Flagg?
I prefer the Hornets get a new coach first than trade Lamelo. A coach like Tom Thibodeau or Coach Malone.
Ja Morant
Zion Williamson
Lamelo Ball
Jonathan Kuminga
You guys thinking what I’m thinking?
That they form a 3 on 3 team and play in the Big3 league?
À franchise that is somehow worse than New Orleans