Sion James opened up about the Charlotte Hornets trading LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and other teammates during a major offseason overhaul.
The Charlotte Hornets traded LaMelo Ball, Josh Green, Miles Bridges, and Tre Mann between June 25 and Aug. 14.
Sion James is still there. He played all 82 games as a rookie last season and saw several of his teammates leave over the summer.
"It was definitely a shock to the system because LaMelo Ball, JG, Miles Bridges — those are our guys. We love being around those dudes, man," James said on the Numbers on the Board podcast. "Anytime a teammate goes somewhere else, obviously you are happy for them because maybe it's a better situation. I don't know. I loved having those guys."
Charlotte added Naz Reid, Grayson Allen, and Royce O'Neale in the Ball and Bridges trades. James said he is excited about the players coming in, even if it was strange seeing familiar teammates leave.
"We trust JP in the front office to do what they got to do," James said. "Excited to have Naz (Reid), Grayson (Allen), all these guys that are joining us. Royce (O'Neale). We're happy to have them, but man, it's different."
JP is Jeff Peterson, Charlotte's president of basketball operations and general manager.
Hornets Traded LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges
The Ball deal was agreed to June 25 and completed as a four-team trade involving the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets. Ball and Green went to Minnesota.
Charlotte received Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, first-round swaps in 2028, 2029, and 2030, and second-round picks in 2029, 2032, and 2033.
Three days later, Charlotte sent Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick to Phoenix for Allen, O'Neale, and another unprotected 2033 first-round pick.
Bridges was the No. 12 pick in the 2018 draft and played all seven of his NBA seasons with Charlotte. He averaged 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 77 games last season, shooting 46% from the field.
For James, part of the adjustment came when the lockers started getting cleared out.
"Hearing about it, seeing Melo's locker, JG's locker, MB's locker getting cleaned out and stuff... It's different, because those are the guys," James said. "But it's the nature of the business, and the reason we all play is to get better and to improve and to win a championship. The front office is just doing what they're supposed to be doing."
Charlotte made another trade Aug. 14, sending Mann to Cleveland for Dennis Schröder and cash.
Mann played 53 games last season and averaged 5.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 12.6 minutes. Schröder is owed $14.8 million for 2026-27 and joins his 12th NBA franchise.
Sion James Returns For Second Hornets Season
Charlotte also acquired Dorian Finney-Smith and three second-round picks from Houston. The Hornets drafted Hannes Steinbach with the 14th pick and Christian Anderson Jr. at No. 18 and re-signed Coby White for three years and $74 million.
Reid is due $23,275,862 this season.
James was the 33rd pick in the 2025 draft. He played four seasons at Tulane before spending his final college season at Duke.
James averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists at Duke and made the ACC All-Defensive Team.
He played 22.5 minutes per game for Charlotte as a rookie, averaging 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.2 blocks.
The Hornets went 44-38 last season and finished ninth in the Eastern Conference. They missed the playoffs by one game after going 19-63 the previous season.
Charles Lee will coach his third season in Charlotte.
The Hornets open Oct. 21 at Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m. ET. Their home opener is Oct. 23 against the Atlanta Hawks at Spectrum Center.
Charlotte has six nationally televised games. The first is Jan. 19 at Dallas.
Reid returns to Minnesota on Jan. 29. Ball plays at Spectrum Center on Feb. 15.
