LaVar Ball ripped the Charlotte Hornets after the LaMelo Ball trade, saying the franchise will “go from sugar to s--t real quick” without his son.
LaVar Ball said on the podcast Ultimate Dads Unplugged that the Charlotte Hornets will "go from sugar to s--t real quick" without LaMelo Ball.
Winning a title is what LaVar wanted for his son. He is happy with where LaMelo landed.
"When he was on there, I told him two things. I said, 'Yo, you ain't never win no championship just with Melo by himself. What you must do is get is get his two brothers or trade him.' And they traded him the next day, so it's all good," LaVar said.
In June 2019, just hours after the Los Angeles Lakers traded Lonzo Ball to New Orleans for Anthony Davis, LaVar made a similar prediction. When speaking to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk at the Drew League, he described it as "the worst move the Lakers ever did" and claimed the franchise would never win another title. Despite his prediction, Los Angeles secured the championship the next season.
Charlotte agreed to send LaMelo and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves on June 25, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania. The Hornets received Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029, and 2030, and second-round picks in 2029, 2032, and 2033. Charlotte also picked up the draft rights to Matteo Spagnolo and Mouhamadou Gueye. The deal was completed as a four-team trade that sent Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets and Nicolas Claxton to the Chicago Bulls.
Last season, LaMelo played 72 games, averaging 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. Since being drafted third overall in 2020, across six seasons and 303 games, his career averages are 20.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2020-21 and was an All-Star in the following year.
After a 4-14 start, the Hornets won nine straight between January and February. The run was the longest of the franchise's current incarnation. Charlotte finished 44-38 and ninth in the Eastern Conference.
On April 14, in the play-in game, LaMelo scored the winning layup in the last 10 seconds, securing a 127-126 victory with 30 points and 10 assists. Orlando had led 38-16 after the first quarter and ultimately won the elimination game 121-90. Charlotte has now gone 10 straight seasons without making the playoffs, the longest current drought in the league.
Hornets' president of basketball operations and general manager Jeff Peterson told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he was comfortable trading LaMelo, citing Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel as reasons. Miller, who played 65 games, averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, with a 38.3% shooting rate from three. Knueppel, a rookie who appeared in 81 games, posted averages of 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, shooting 42.5% from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Cooper Flagg surpassed him for Rookie of the Year by 26 points in the voting.
Cleaning the Glass rated LaMelo, Miller, Knueppel, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabaté the best five-man lineup last season with a net rating of plus-27.4 at a minimum of 500 possessions.
Bridges went to the Phoenix Suns for Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale. Coby White re-signed on a three-year, $74 million contract in June to start at point guard. Charlotte acquired Dorian Finney-Smith from the Houston Rockets and Dennis Schröder in a five-team deal completed Aug. 20. The Hornets drafted Hannes Steinbach 14th and Christian Anderson 18th.
Reid signed a five-year, $125 million deal with Minnesota in July 2025, including a player option for 2029-30. LaMelo's extension also lasts through the 2029-30 season.
Charlotte begins the regular season on Oct. 21 against Brooklyn at Barclays Center, with the home opener against Atlanta Hawks.
