After falling to the Atlanta Hawks in the Play-In tournament, the Charlotte Hornets ended their season a little earlier than they anticipated. LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and the rest of the players addressed things they need to improve on. Others talked about where they go from here as free agents and some hints at what they plan on doing. For the most part, the team will remain intact, with the exception of Montrezl Harrell and Isaiah Thomas who were added midseason. Miles Bridges has some contract details to iron out. However, it seems like the media is pushing LaMelo Ball out of Charlotte in the near future.
The former Rookie of the Year had a great season and took a major leap in his development as a player and a leader for the Hornets. He has voiced his wishes to build something special in Charlotte and not hop from team to team, but some of the headlines that have popped up on TV have been about him departing for the Los Angeles Lakers or other teams. On ESPN's First Take, they had a segment labeled ‘Are LaMelo's days in Charlotte numbered?' and Skip Bayless said on Undisputed “I think LaMelo Ball will become the face of the league. Will it be in Charlotte? I doubt it,”.
It seems like everybody is angling for Ball to leave the Hornets by the time his rookie contract is out and head to a bigger market, which is really just disrespectful. Instead of talking about what the Hornets may need to add or what direction they need to go for next season, they went with the easy headline. Which could force a budding star out of a smaller market all because his team failed to make the postseason in his second year. Things could be a whole lot worse though.
The Hornets actually improved in the 2021-22 season compared to the last. They went from winning 33 games to 43 games. For most of the season, they were top-five in points per game and offensive efficiency rating. They have gotten better since he has been in Charlotte. There is no need to push him out of the city just yet. Not when there is another draft coming up, free agency, and offseason trades that can help this team reload for next season.
It is not time to hit the panic button. Even if the media is prepping LaMelo Ball to depart the Hornets, there is no need to overreact to empty headlines yet.
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