Brandon Miller spoke for the first time about the LaMelo Ball trade.
Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller spoke about the LaMelo Ball trade during a conversation on "The Road Trippin' Show."
The Hornets traded Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid and draft picks.
"It's tough going through trade deadline, this time seeing your brothers from Day 1 gone... it hurts, but we all know the NBA game and I know he will be great in Minnesota and what they have going on there," Miller said. "
"Of course, he still has a lot to learn. I feel like everybody that young has a lot to learn, so I'm excited to see his growth. That was the main thing I was excited for him about last year, just his leadership growth. I feel like the media had him looking crazy a lot of times."
The Hornets never made the playoffs in the Ball era. Ball played in 303 games with Charlotte. He averaged 20.8 points and 7.3 assists per game and made one All-Star team (2022).
Ball, 24, also won the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year Award.
Hornets president of basketball operations and general manager Jeff Peterson told Marc J. Spears of Andscape he was comfortable trading Ball because of Miller and Knueppel.
Miller and Knueppel are now the faces of Charlotte's franchise after the Hornets sent Ball to the Timberwolves.
"I’m very comfortable," Peterson said. "[Hornets head coach] Charles [Lee] and I had a conversation with both of them knowing that these trades can be challenging. Sometimes I do think we forget that we’re human beings dealing with this stuff — lives and its emotions. Those guys are friends and they are in the locker room every day. At the same time, Charles and I kind of explained, We believe in you guys, too. You guys are here. We want to continue to see you guys grow. This is going to challenge you guys. You guys got to continue to get better.' We wouldn’t have made that trade if we didn’t feel comfortable with what they can continue to be developing into."
Even though Knueppel didn't win the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Award, he still had a special season for the Hornets. The swingman averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and shot 47.5% from the field, 42.5% from 3 and 86.3% from the free-throw line. He led the NBA in 3s.
Miller appeared in 65 games for the Hornets last season. He averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the field, 38.3% from beyond the arc and 89.2% from the free-throw line.
The Hornets are expected to start Coby White, Miller, Knueppel, Reid and Moussa Diabaté next season. That's a strong starting five on paper.
Charlotte hasn't made the playoffs since 2016. It will be fascinating to see if the team makes the playoffs next season in Year 1 of the post-Ball era.
