The Charlotte Hornets traded LaMelo Ball last month, a move that immediately prompted questions. Why would the Hornets move on after both his and the team’s best season in a long time? Why would they trade him after he finally proved he can stay healthy?
Who’s going to be the face of the franchise? Who will set up teammates for good, open shots? What did fans do to deserve another round of rebuilding when the future seemed so bright? All valid questions.
In the weeks after the move, unofficial answers came forth, some of them from us here at Hornets On SI. It began to make a little more sense as to why the Hornets might’ve done this, but no official explanation came forth other than “it’s best for the future of the team.”
And while it’s not coming from Jeff Peterson’s mouth, Spotrac’s Keith Smith did speak with an anonymous Hornets executive during Summer League and got more insight into the move.
“When you trade someone as good and as popular as LaMelo, you have to get it right. We think we did,” the executive said. “Coby [White] is a starting point guard. Brandon [Miller] needs a new deal, and he needs the ball more. Same with Kon [Knueppel] as far as needing the ball. Getting all of those picks, plus Naz Reid to help our frontcourt, it was the right move at the right time.”
Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) and forward Brandon Miller (24) watch a free throw attempt | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Obviously, there is more to it than just this, but one executive who obviously has some inside knowledge specifically mentioned that, to put it simply, the Hornets had too many ball-needy players.
They also really liked and wanted to re-sign Coby White, and signing a starting-level point guard to that kind of money to have him come off the bench would’ve been a difficult task.
So, all that combined with some likely concerns over Ball’s injury history, his contract status (and Miller’s, of course) led to the most shocking trade perhaps in the history of the Charlotte Hornets.
Time will tell whether or not the move was right or justified. Unsurprisingly, the Hornets front office believes it is justified and that they’ll be better off because of it. Now, we have a little more insight as to why they felt that way and why they pulled the trigger on sending Ball to Minnesota.
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