The Charlotte Hornets' decision to trade LaMelo Ball came as a shock to many people around the NBA.
According to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, the Charlotte Hornets' decision to trade LaMelo Ball came as a shock to many people around the NBA.
The Hornets traded Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Ball will make his return to Charlotte on Feb. 15.
"Another juicy reunion will take place Jan. 29 when the Charlotte Hornets play at Minnesota and see their old point guard, LaMelo Ball," Youngmisuk wrote. "The Hornets stunned many around the league when they traded their star point guard after enjoying the second-best turnaround in the league last season and becoming one of the hottest teams in the league after Jan. 1, missing the playoffs by one game when they lost to Orlando in the play-in. Ball, one of the most popular fan favorites in Hornets franchise history, will return to play at Charlotte on Feb. 15."
Charlotte traded Ball and Josh Green to Minnesota for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three future first-round pick swaps and three future second-round picks. 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.
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.
Hornets president of basketball operations and general manager Jeff Peterson told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he was comfortable trading Ball because of Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.
Miller and Knueppel are now the faces of Charlotte's franchise.
"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."
