An earlier report that LaMelo Ball was open to the Charlotte Hornets trading him was ridiculed by Ball himself. He put a clown emoji on it on social media and told reporters outright that it was false and that it didn’t come from him or anyone in his camp.
That’s not likely to stop any trade rumors, especially if Ball struggles shooting the ball or if the Hornets continue to lose (and sometimes, both things are happening).
NBA analyst Zach Lowe believes Ball doesn’t want to be traded. But this poses another, perhaps more important question about whether the feeling is mutual anymore. The Hornets have been adamant in the past that Ball’s not available. Have they changed their minds?
🎙️ @ZachLowe_NBA: “I do think we are going to hear some LaMelo (Ball) noise. He rebutted a report that he wanted out of Charlotte. I actually believe him, that he doesn’t want out of Charlotte… I think the more interesting question is, what does Charlotte want?” 🤔 pic.twitter.com/JSyrMX8XwD
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) December 2, 2025
Lowe said he’s not sure what teams think of a “distressed asset” like Ball, before adding, “I do think we are going to hear some LaMelo (Ball) noise. He rebutted a report that he wanted out of Charlotte. I actually believe him, that he doesn’t want out of Charlotte… I think the more interesting question is, what does Charlotte want?”
He also noted that he doesn’t buy a point guard carousel that involves swapping similarly “distressed asset” guards Ball, Trae Young, and Ja Morant. But he could see a trade between bad teams, even saying he’d love to see the Hornets try to “fleece” the Sacramento Kings.
But as he mentioned, it all comes down to what the Hornets want. As rough as the season has gone and as poorly as Ball has shot the ball (38% from the field), Charlotte’s still a much better team with him on the floor.
They are 13.1 points better with him on the floor, according to Cleaning the Glass. That’s after adding players like Collin Sexton, Kon Knueppel, and Brandon Miller who can carry the load with him on the bench.
That number translates to an expected wins of 29. Over the course of 82 games, the Hornets would win 29 more with Ball on the floor than off it. That’s more than Cade Cunningham, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, and Anthony Edwards.
So Ball remains a supremely important player to the Hornets, but are they willing to take the losses to get more assets and build a better team? Or are they willing to take some of the inefficiency and missed games because he’s so impactful when he does play? That remains the question.
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