LaMelo Ball trade rumors: Hornets reportedly engaged in talks with multiple suitors following NBA Draft
The Charlotte Hornets are reportedly considering a shocking move with LaMelo Ball.
Per ESPN's Shams Charania, the Hornets are engaged in trade talks with multiple teams making "aggressive" offers for the former All-Star guard. If Charlotte's price is met, a deal could be made in the next two days.
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors are two of the teams with trade interest, according to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein.
Ball recently finished his sixth season with the Hornets, but is still only 24 years old and is under contract for the next three seasons on a max deal. He has said in the past he wants to stay in Charlotte, which Charania reiterated while reporting on ESPN. Ball denied a Yahoo Sports report that he was open to a trade in November.
The Hornets are coming off a 44-38 season, their best record since 2015-16 but still not enough to make the NBA Playoffs after a loss in the play-in tournament. That season saw a massive turnaround, going from a 14-26 record before the end of January to a 30-12 record after.
The team is built on a collection of young talent that also includes Rookie of the Year runner-up Kon Knueppel, Brandon Milller and Moussa Diabaté — as well as the older Miles Bridges — but Ball remains the centerpiece of the team, both on the court and in its larger image in the league.
When healthy, Ball has been one of the most exciting players in the NBA to watch, but health has hardly been a given with him. Last season was his first time in four years playing more than 50 games in season, and he's also seen incidents on and off the court.
A trade would represent a massive change in trajectory for the Hornets, going from a team hoping its young core can break through to the playoffs to a team rebuilding on the fly with what would likely be a boatload of draft capital.
