{"id":2180,"date":"2026-06-26T04:11:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T04:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2180"},"modified":"2026-06-26T04:11:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T04:11:48","slug":"the-charlotte-hornets-just-traded-away-lamelo-ball-and-im-all-for-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2180","title":{"rendered":"The Charlotte Hornets just traded away LaMelo Ball, and I\u2019m all for it"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

LaMelo Ball just got traded by the Charlotte Hornet<\/a>s. And although you might look at what the Hornets got in return and wonder if it was really worth it<\/a>, I\u2019m in favor of the deal.<\/p>\n

Read more UNC Charlotte is removing one of its most iconic landmarks. It won\u2019t put it back<\/a><\/p>\n

The Hornets shipped Ball to Minnesota for bruising big man Naz Reid and a number of draft assets, sources said. Minnesota now gets to pair Anthony Edwards and Ball in the backcourt, while Charlotte gets tougher and also accumulates a haul of draft considerations.<\/p>\n

Charlotte also traded away veteran Josh Green to make Thursday\u2019s deal work and received a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (if they are beneficial) and three second-round picks from Minnesota for Ball.<\/p>\n

And, in a significant part of this wild day, the Hornets also agreed with Coby White on a three-year, $74-million contract,<\/a> sources confirmed to The Charlotte Observer Thursday. So Ball\u2019s replacement is set \u2014 White will simply move into the starting lineup instead of being the sixth man (and he will be a lot cheaper than Ball, too).<\/p>\n

Does that sound like the Hornets got jobbed?<\/p>\n

Only if you haven\u2019t watched The LaMelo Ball Experience up close for the past six years, as I have.<\/p>\n

Melo made it into the highlight reel every night. And to be fair, he sold a lot of tickets. But I don\u2019t think the Hornets were ever going to win big with him. In Ball\u2019s six NBA seasons in the Queen City, Charlotte never made the playoffs even once. And I definitely don\u2019t trust his injury history. Mainly due to problematic ankles, Ball had missed at least 35 games per season for the previous three years prior to this one.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth noting that the Hornets just created a $40.7 million trade exception which, according to ESPN\u2019s Bobby Marks, is the largest in NBA history. That means there may be \u2014 no, there likely<\/i> will be \u2014 even one more high-profile domino to fall soon. Could Boston\u2019s Jaylen Brown end up in Charlotte? Oddsmakers think it\u2019s very possible, and it is.<\/p>\n

Ball just had the best NBA season of his six-year career, averaging 20.1 points and 7.1 assists per game for a Charlotte team that won 44 regular-season games. He also played in 74 of a possible 84 games (including the NBA play-in tournament), which was big-time for a flashy point guard who has been injury-prone for much of his career. His defense \u2014 which was poor throughout most of his career \u2014 improved to mediocre.<\/p>\n

Read more Ballantyne\u2019s crown jewel: The Morrison YMCA sale doesn\u2019t add up | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

And then there was that nutty play-in game vs. Miami in April, which Ball gave us a crash course on all he has to offer. He won the game with an enormous contested layup through rush-hour traffic. He also took 31 shots to get to 30 points, made an awful turnover late and fouled a guy on a three-point shot at a critical moment.<\/p>\n

Those weren\u2019t his most egregious actions, though. Ball also tripped up Miami star Bam Adebayo so flagrantly that he got fined $35,000, infuriated Miami coach Erik Spoelstra<\/a> and was fortunate not to be suspended for the next game (he played, but Charlotte got bullied by 31 points anyway in Orlando<\/a>, to continue the NBA\u2019s longest active non-playoff streak).<\/p>\n

The money the Hornets still owed Ball was almost unfathomable in normal circles, but not in the NBA\u2019s alternate universe. Because this was the first good season he\u2019s had over the past four years, it was also the first offseason in a while that he no longer had an untradeable contract. Minnesota took a risk acquiring that contract, and it may well work out for the Timberwolves.<\/p>\n

But for the Hornets, The LaMelo Ball Experience is over. The show has finally closed. He\u2019s going to move to Minneapolis and drive in the snow six months a year, and I wonder how that will work out. Notably, the Hornets have once again traded arguably their best player, as they have done a number of times in the past (Alonzo Mourning<\/a>, Kemba Walker and, most regrettably, Kobe Bryant on NBA Draft night in 1996).<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s absolutely fine. Well, not the Kobe or Zo trades, but you know what I mean. The team will be built around Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel and White this season, with a whole lot of other good parts that can be placed somewhere (and maybe 1-2 more high-profile parts to come very soon). New draft picks Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr. \u2014 the latter of whom may have just gotten a battlefield promotion to backup point guard \u2014 will factor in right away.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Ball trade was one worth making and a gamble worth taking, for a team that wants more than Ball was ever going to provide.<\/p>\n

Read more Popular restaurant and lounge temporarily closes in Charlotte. \u2018A brief pause\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 10:18 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Charlotte Hornets traded away star point guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday, receiving Naz Reid and a draft-pick haul in return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Charlotte Hornets just traded away LaMelo Ball, and I\u2019m all for it - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2180\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Charlotte Hornets just traded away LaMelo Ball, and I\u2019m all for it - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Charlotte Hornets traded away star point guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday, receiving Naz Reid and a draft-pick haul in return.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2180\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-26T04:11:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"The Charlotte Hornets just traded away LaMelo Ball, and I\u2019m all for it\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T04:11:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180\"},\"wordCount\":866,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/1531d124984434c1c8811037ca3ada8e.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180\",\"name\":\"The Charlotte Hornets just traded away LaMelo Ball, and I\u2019m all for it - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/1531d124984434c1c8811037ca3ada8e.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T04:11:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2180#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/1531d124984434c1c8811037ca3ada8e.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/1531d124984434c1c8811037ca3ada8e.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball during action against the Miami Heat at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. 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