With 4:32 to play in a Wednesday night matchup between the Charlotte Hornets and the NBA-worst Indiana Pacers, Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee made the decision to bench LaMelo Ball.

Ball was playing in his second straight game after missing six of the last seven, including five straight missed games between November 2nd and November 12th. It was another rough night for the former Chino Hills star, who had recorded 18 points on 5-21 from the field (2-11 from three) along with six turnovers when Lee pulled him.

The benching was not exactly a real benching, however, as LaMelo had hit his minutes restriction for the night. Since returning from injury, he’s hovered around 27 minutes, and that is the exact mark he was at when Lee pulled the plug on the night.

While there are frustrations within the fanbase regarding Ball’s injury history and struggles on the court, there are also frustrations with the star guard himself.

According to Yahoo’s Kelly Iko, Ball has grown “increasingly frustrated” with the Hornets’ organization and is open to a trade away from the team.

Though LaMelo’s names have been in rumors since the day he stepped foot into Charlotte, the constant was always that he was happy to be playing in Charlotte.

“Just being here, I love it,” Ball said during his exit interviews in April. “The fans are amazing. The living situation has been amazing, everything’s been solid. All that ‘you need to leave’, this and that, when you build something, it’s never just going to pop off and be the best thing. You gotta stay there, work it out, do what you gotta do, and see what happens if you’re trying to make it work.”

Ball continued to mention throughout his exit interviews that the rumors around him do not bother him, and the rumors surrounding him do not annoy him.

7 months later, and the Hornets now sit at 4-11, with LaMelo averaging 21.6 points per game on 38.5% from the field, and 29.8% from deep. Injuries to Brandon Miller, Josh Green, and Grant Williams have hurt the Hornets’ roster, who, to this point, cannot seem to put a string of good wins together.

While President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson has continually spoken about waiting and not rushing the process, the tough losses may start causing impatience.

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