The Charlotte Hornets have once again started the season slowly, and it was reported that LaMelo Ball was open to a trade, as he's frustrated with the direction of the team. It's not certain how true that rumor is, but there is one thing that is for certain: the Hornets are not looking to trade him, according to Jake Fischer via Marc Stein.
“Our own Jake Fischer, on a Bleacher Report live stream Thursday afternoon, said he believes ‘with absolute certainty' that the Hornets are not currently willing to field calls on Ball. Not before they get a longer look at Ball playing alongside the injured Brandon Miller and the Hornets' promising rookie duo of Kon Knueppel and Ryan Kalkbrenner,” Stein wrote.
The Hornets have not been able to see the true potential of their team with the injuries, and once everyone is healthy, it'll be interesting to see if they can get on the right track. In the event that things still look the same and they're losing games, what do the Hornets do?
If they put Ball on the trade block, there's a good chance that they could get a lot for him. At the same time, with questions about his injury history and his play style, it would not be a surprise if he didn't have a lot of suitors. Ball has only played more than 70 games once in his career, and there should be real concern if he can stay healthy throughout an 82-game season.
The Hornets could look to try and trade other players on the team, such as Miles Bridges, who could maybe get them an asset that they like. As of now, it seems like the franchise is in a wait-and-see mode, and they won't know what they want to do until the season continues.
