The Charlotte Hornets want to see what they have in LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel. Unfortunately, Knueppel’s the only one who has consistently been on the court. That trio has appeared in very few contests together.
This season was never about making the playoffs or even making a run. It was about getting healthy and seeing what a semi-competent roster could do when it was led by Ball, Miller, and Knueppel. SO far, they’ve had trouble evaluating that, thanks mostly to Miller’s shoulder injury.
Right now, they’re healthy, so it’s the first real chance to, hopefully, string some games together and see what kind of performance this core can put together and if it’s worth building around. But either way, a day is coming when a decision must be made.
The Hornets have 32 games left until the NBA trade deadline. That’s not really a big sample size, but it’ll have to do. Let’s not kid ourselves and think Ball, Miller, and Knueppel will be on the court together for all 32 of those games, but if we can get them to play 24 or more games together, that should be enough to get a glimpse.
Oct 15, 2025; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) celebrates with forward Brandon Miller (24) during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at First Horizon Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images | Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images
But if that doesn’t happen, then the Hornets will have to make a decision at the end of the year. If health never lets them see this core play together for long enough stretches to really gel, then the decision might be to blow it up anyway, since they can’t play together.
The offseason is probably the most realistic deadline, though. Even if the Hornets do play 32 games with their main trio on the floor, that’s still less than half a season, and in total, they’d have less than 40 games of that trio playing together, which isn’t exactly an ideal sample size.
Giving them a full season, health permitting, would be wise. Though they’ll probably get hurt again at some point, taking the entire season gives the Hornets’ front office enough time to collect good data. Even if Ball goes down, the front office can see what a Knueppel-Miller duo looks like. If Miller gets hurt again, the Ball-Knueppel connection will get plenty of run.
So with all that being said, it won’t be a huge surprise if this core isn’t the same next season. It will, however, be a pretty big surprise if Ball or Miller is offloaded at the deadline this year.
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