Trouble is brewing for the Charlotte Hornets.
Star guard LaMelo Ball has reportedly grown frustrated with the organization and is open to a trade out of Charlotte, according to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports.
“Following the Hornets’ disappointing road loss to the 2-13 Indiana Pacers — their fourth straight, dropping Charlotte to 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 4-11 record — star guard LaMelo Ball has grown increasingly frustrated with the organization and is open to a trade away from the franchise, multiple league sources told Yahoo Sports,” Iko wrote.
Ball is in the midst of his sixth season in Charlotte, and though he has posted some solid individual stats over the course of his career, his play hasn’t led to any larger team success. Overall, his loose, free-flowing style hasn’t translated to winning.
Ball has appeared in 240 total games for Charlotte in his career, and he holds a 100-140 record in those games, which isn’t great. Plus, he has yet to play in a single playoff game for Charlotte.
When it comes to Ball, availability has been a glaring issue. He played in 75 games during his sophomore season, but outside of that he’s never played in more than 51 games in a season for the Hornets. He’s appeared in less than 50 games in each of the last three seasons.
As a result, the Hornets are hesitant to continue to build around the 24-year-old, and thus could be open to moving him elsewhere, per Iko.
“League sources say the front office is increasingly hesitant about cementing Ball as a long-term foundational piece, has become disillusioned with the 24-year-old and is open to moving him,” Iko wrote.
The fact that both Ball and the Hornets appear open to a trade makes it seem like something could come to fruition. However, the Hornets might have a tough time finding fair value in a trade for the star guard given his aforementioned availability issues combined with his massive contract. After the current campaign, Ball will still have three years and over $129 million remaining on his current deal.
Now that it's known that Ball would like a fresh start elsewhere and that the Hornets are also open to that idea, expect Ball's future to be a major topic of conversation in NBA circles in the coming weeks.
Edit: Ball appeared to refute the report that he was open to a trade by replying to it on X with a clown emoji.