Multiple teams are aggressively pursuing star point guard LaMelo Ball and are deep in talks to trade for him from the Charlotte Hornets, Yankee Scores reports.
The Aggressive Trade Proposals
Discussions involving Ball have picked up, with the Hornets getting some aggressive offers, sources said.
Sources told ESPN that if Charlotte’s terms are met, a potential trade could develop in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Ball has been happy in Charlotte and both sides are in a good place after the Hornets enjoyed a massive turnaround last season and fell one play-in win short of making the playoffs and ending a postseason drought that dates to 2016.
The July 6 Extension Clock
Ball has three years left on his contract and can sign a two-year, $119.2 million extension July 6.
He averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 36.8% from 3 in 72 regular-season games, his most played since he appeared in 75 during his second season in 2021-22. Ball missed 105 games due to injury from 2022-23 to 2024-25.
He led an exciting Hornets team to 44 wins after only 19 wins the season prior. The Hornets took a giant step forward, partly due to the improved health of Ball and Brandon Miller and the addition of rookie Kon Knueppel.
Miller (second pick in 2023) averaged a team-high 20.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in 65 games while Knueppel finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Dallas’ Cooper Flagg after becoming the first rookie to lead the league in 3-pointers made.
He lifted the Hornets past the Miami Heat 127-126 in overtime in the first of two Eastern Conference play-in games with a layup with 4.7 seconds to go.
He, however, was fined $35,000 “for making unnecessary and reckless contact” with Bam Adebayo after Ball swiped at the Heat center’s foot while on the ground, sending Adebayo to the floor and injuring his lower back. Ball also was fined $25,000 for using profane language in a TV interview after the win and later apologized to Adebayo.
The Hornets’ season ended in Orlando in the next play-in game, when they lost 121-90 to the Magic.
