The Charlotte Hornets just traded away LaMelo Ball, and I’m all for it
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- Charlotte Hornets traded LaMelo Ball to Minnesota for Naz Reid and draft assets.
- The Hornets received a 2033 unprotected first, three first-round swaps, and three seconds.
- In six seasons with Charlotte, Ball was flashy but never led team to the playoffs.
LaMelo Ball just got traded by the Charlotte Hornets. And although you might look at what the Hornets got in return and wonder if it was really worth it, I’m in favor of the deal.
The Hornets shipped Ball to Minnesota for bruising big man Naz Reid and a number of draft considerations, sources said. Minnesota now gets to pair Anthony Edwards and Ball in the backcourt, while Charlotte gets tougher and also accumulates a haul of draft assets.
Charlotte also traded away veteran Josh Green to make Thursday’s deal work and received a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps and three second-round picks from Minnesota for Ball.
And, in a significant part of this wild day, the Hornets also agreed with Coby White on a three-year, $74-million contract, sources confirmed to The Charlotte Observer Thursday. So Ball’s replacement is set — White will simply move into the starting lineup instead of being the sixth man (and he will be a lot cheaper than Ball, too).
Does all that sound like the Hornets got jobbed?
Only if you haven’t watched The LaMelo Ball Experience up close for the past six years, as I have.
Melo made it into the highlight reel every night, but I don’t think the Hornets were ever going to win big with him. In Ball’s six NBA seasons in the Queen City, Charlotte never made the playoffs even once. And I don’t trust his injury history. Mainly due to problematic ankles, Ball had missed at least 35 games per season for the previous three years prior to this one.
It’s also worth noting that the Hornets just created a $40.7 million trade exception which, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, is the largest in NBA history. That means there may be — no, there likely will be — even one more high-profile domino to fall soon.
Ball just had the best NBA season of his six-year career, averaging 20.1 points and 7.1 assists per game for a Charlotte team that won 44 regular-season games. He also played in 74 of a possible 84 games (including the NBA play-in tournament), which was big-time for a flashy point guard who has been injury-prone for much of his career. His defense — which was poor throughout most of his career — improved to mediocre.
And then there was that nutty play-in game vs. Miami in April, which Ball gave us a crash course on all he has to offer. He won the game with an enormous contested layup through rush-hour traffic. He also took 31 shots to get to 30 points, made an awful turnover late and fouled a guy on a three-point shot at a critical moment.
Those weren’t his most egregious actions, though. Ball also tripped up Miami star Bam Adebayo so flagrantly that he got fined $35,000, infuriated Miami coach Erik Spoelstra and was fortunate not to be suspended for the next game (he played, but Charlotte got killed anyway by Orlando, to continue the NBA’s longest active non-playoff streak).
The money the Hornets still owed Ball was almost unfathomable in normal circles, but in the NBA’s alternate universe this was the first offseason he no longer had an untradeable contract. Minnesota took a risk acquiring that contract, and it might work out for the Timberwolves.
But for the Hornets, The LaMelo Ball Experience is over. The show has finally closed.
And that’s absolutely fine. The team will be built around Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges and White now, with a whole lot of other good parts that can be placed somewhere (and maybe 1-2 more high-profile parts to come).
This was a trade worth making and a gamble worth taking, for a team that ultimately wants more than Ball was ever going to provide.
This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 10:18 AM.
