At first, there was a sense of optimism around the franchise when it hired Charles Lee as the newest head coach. The Charlotte Hornets also had significant changes within their basketball leadership upon the front office takeover of Jeff Peterson.

But compared to the past couple of seasons, 2024-25 has offered nothing new for the Hornets. Their record speaks for itself, at the No. 14 spot of the Eastern Conference at 14-45.

Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images

In the wake of the Hornets’ continued mediocrity, all eyes are reportedly watching how the ball club will handle its future with LaMelo Ball.

The potential market availability of Ball, who was chosen by Charlotte as their prized No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 Draft, is slated to be on the radar of several league circles.

According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the case for Ball stands as one of the issues that executives will pay a close look at, amidst the wave of stars being traded recently.

He wrote: “Following the Luka Doncic trade, NBA executives around the league have expanded their horizons on which potential stars could be next to change teams.

“The availability of Hornets guard LaMelo Ball is one of the stars several executives who spoke with HoopsHype will be monitoring on the trade market this summer.”

The Hornets’ situation with Ball is considerably tricky.

No one can deny Ball’s talent and promise which even Kyrie Irving notably praised him. This season, the 23-year-old is tallying a career-high 26.1 points with 7.0 assists, and 5.1 boards.

But since he was identified by the Hornets as the face of their franchise, Charlotte is yet to take the next step. They have not made the NBA Playoffs since 2016, and the deepest they have ever been with Ball is the Play-In Tournament.

Ball has only played a single healthy season, logging 75 games in 2021-22 regular season.

Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images

A potential break-up with Ball could give the Hornets another chance to reconstruct and prepare for a much brighter future. By dealing the star floor general, Charlotte is guaranteed to get several drafts and other key assets that will help them in rebuilding.

Considering their unchanged situation, it would be justifiable for the Hornets to take a reset again by trading Ball away.

And for his own benefit, the sensation himself can only welcome better opportunities to finally win at this stage of his young career.

Former NBA star Damarcus Cousins has a differing view, urging the Hornets to trade for Zion Williamson to pair with LaMelo ball.