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With a 6-13 record, the Charlotte Hornets look to have another long season ahead of them. During their 99-98 loss to the New York Knicks on Friday, LaVar Ball, father of LaMelo Ball, implied that help is on the way to the Hornets, likely from a trade, via Big Baller Brand's IG Live video.
“Don't worry about it, help is coming. Help is coming!”
Lavar Ball to the Charlotte Hornets after Cody Martin’s missed shot : “Don’t worry about help is coming, help is coming.” pic.twitter.com/ld0xwx1UCE
— NFTs (@igotnftsmedia) November 29, 2024
Based on the latest headlines, it may not be a trade. Instead, LiAngelo Ball, who opted to forgo attending UCLA after a suspension for shoplifting in China, is trying to get back into the NBA G League. From 2021 to 2023, he played for the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets' G League affiliate. In 2024, he briefly joined Astros de Jalisco of Mexico's CIBACOPA before returning to the United States to rehabilitate an injury.
Hornets are in no position to be trading future assets
With no first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, Charlotte is in a difficult position over the next two seasons. Ball and Brandon Miller can get hot from three-point range but the team is certainly lacking an identity. It also doesn't help that a smattering of injuries has kept out Miles Bridges, DaQuan Jeffries, Tre Mann, Nick Richards and Mark Williams. Grant Williams is also out for the season with an ACL injury.
Despite the team's uneven start, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have noticed Ball's hot start to the season.
“LaMelo got a different bag, dog,” Garnett said. “He's playing with a different confidence, and I hope the league blesses him with an All-Star appearance. He is must-watch TV I think he's great when you put him around a bunch of other young guys. He's fun to watch, in this direction that we're going in, he's part of that wave.”
Fun to watch is one thing. Consistently competitive, the Hornets are not.
In Brett Siegel's latest NBA Power Rankings, he has Charlotte at No. 25.
“When home, the Charlotte Hornets have posted a 5-3 record, but they are just 1-7 on the road, tied for the worst road record in the league. There isn't much to point to and think highly of when discussing the Hornets right now, as LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller have been their only factors offensively.
“As a team, Charlotte is the third-worst shooting team in the NBA, and they are the worst when it comes to getting to the free-throw line. Basically, all the Hornets do is throw up three-point shots and hope for the best, hence why they rank second in both threes made and taken.”
The Hornets host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, November 30, at 6:00 p.m. EST.
