Proposed Hornets trade sees Charlotte finally move on from LaMelo Ball, deal for $120 million All-Star to form star backcourt with Kon Knueppel originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Charlotte Hornets picked a winner when they drafted Kon Knueppel, but now they have a problem: in order to win, they need their All-Star, LaMelo Ball, to pick it up, which doesn’t seem likely.
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If that’s the case, Fansided’s Christopher Kline believes that the Hornets need to finally move on from Ball, and begin a new era with Knueppel. He proposes that Charlotte makes a deal with a division rival in the Miami Heat for All-Star Tyler Herro.
The trade would look like this:
Heat get: G LaMelo Ball
Hornets get: G Tyler Herro, G Kasparas Jakucionis, MIA 2029 first-round pick
“The Hornets are the best of the “bad” teams in the East this season, with Kon Knueppel emerging as a Rookie of the Year frontrunner and new franchise cornerstone. Ball continues to produce well enough, and just being (relatively) healthy is a step in the right direction. But there is a chance for two division rivals to help each other out. Herro is a more efficient three-level scorer than Ball. He’s also on a shorter contract, which means Charlotte can test drive him for a year or two, then make a determination on his future. Kasparas Jakučionis has not played much since landing in South Beach as the 20th pick in last year’s draft, but he’s a savvy pick-and-roll guard with size and a smooth pull-up jumper. He can help supplement the loss of Ball’s playmaking,” Kline wrote.
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Herro would bring a reliable 22 points per game, and Jakucionis could blossom into a solid point guard for the Hornets. Finally, they get a future first-round pick to address whatever need they have a few years into the Knueppel era.
This would see Knueppel become the primary ball-handler of the Hornets, though. As long as he can learn to be a playmaker at a high level, it would still work out.
Hopefully, the Hornets consider this trade, as it might be for the best.
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