{"id":526441,"date":"2026-01-09T04:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T04:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/526441\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T04:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T04:17:12","slug":"you-see-what-i-am-saying-kendrick-perkins-exposes-hornets-for-sabotaging-lamelo-balls-all-star-push-nba-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/526441\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cYou see what I am saying?\u201d: Kendrick Perkins exposes Hornets for sabotaging LaMelo Ball\u2019s All-Star push | NBA News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u201cYouLaMelo Ball and Kendrick Perkins (Image via Getty) Kendrick Perkins’ transition from a NBA player to a bold and unapologetic sports analyst is something that unfolded right in front of the league, but it comes with its own troubles. On side side, fans do appreciate Perkins’ candid and blunt takes on things, but sometimes the opinions don\u2019t quite hit the nail on the head. But his ability to offer a unique perspective on teams, players, and behind-the-scenes stories makes him a sought-after analyst. Kendrick Perkins, who appeared on the latest episode of The Road Trippin\u2019 Show, accused the Charlotte Hornets of a calculated effort to suppress the stardom of their franchise cornerstone, LaMelo Ball. His statement came backed with an anonymous text message that talked about trying to tank LaMelo\u2019s value to trade him.<\/p>\n

Kendrick Perkins blames Hornets for tanking LaMelo Ball <\/p>\n

Perkins on The Road Trippin\u2019 Show with Richard Jefferson and Allie Clifton, said that the Hornets organization is intentionally capping Ball\u2019s playing time to keep his scoring averages down in order to reduce his All-Star chances. He showed a no-name text message that Allie read out aloud, \u201cThey’re on this bulls**t. Let’s play Melo about 25-28 minutes a game so his numbers won’t be high. So if they trade him they won’t be trading a two-time All-Star. They will be trading a player that numbers went down. You see what I’m saying.”Perkins didn’t hold back, suggesting that the Hornets are playing a dangerous game with their most talented asset. For the 2025-26 season, LaMelo Ball is spending 28.1 minutes on the court and is averaging 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game while shooting 40.8% from the field and 37.1% from deep. In the Hornets vs Pacers match, Ball put up 33 points, the highest of the game, with 8 assists, 3 rebounds, and 12 from the field in his 27 minutes on the court. Perkins argues that by preventing Ball from becoming a two-time All-Star, the Hornets avoid certain salary escalators and lower the asking price leverage that Ball\u2019s camp might have in trade negotiations. He said, \u201cThe Hornets need to trade LaMelo Ball. Real talk this team, if you watch this Hornets team play, Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller are the guys now.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaMelo Ball\u2019s future in Charlotte<\/p>\n

The deduction that can be made through Perkins’ comments implies a fractured relationship between the player and the front office. Ball is currently on a 5-year contract worth $203 million that he signed in 2023. Under this deal, Ball is set to earn $37.0 million from this season. He is Charlotte\u2019s generational talent, but if Perkins is correct, this move could result in self-damage for the Hornets. The NBA trade deadline is February 2026, and despite the trade rumors swirling, Ball had once denied wanting to leave his current team back in November 2025. No one ones if the feelings are still the same or not. Also read: \u201cShe\u2019s my rock\u201d: Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s heartfelt tribute to wife, Hailey Summers, leaves fans emotional<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LaMelo Ball and Kendrick Perkins (Image via Getty) Kendrick Perkins’ transition from a NBA player to a bold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3777],"tags":[72759,7,684,473,3878,685,2058,966,6,1783,72760],"class_list":{"0":"post-526441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-charlotte-hornets","8":"tag-all-star-push","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-charlotte","11":"tag-charlotte-hornets","12":"tag-charlottehornets","13":"tag-hornets","14":"tag-kendrick-perkins","15":"tag-lamelo-ball","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-nba-trade-rumors","18":"tag-player-value-trade-negotiations"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115863214378912442","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}