NBA analyst proposes LaMelo Ball to boost trade

The Charlotte Hornets have been one of the worst teams in the NBA so far this season. They have more wins than the Detroit Pistons compared to the rest of the league, with nine, and don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon after a tumultuous off-season.

Charlotte had more players arrested than signed to the team as they were unable to upgrade the roster in any form. They fired head coach James Borrego despite an increase of 10 wins from the previous season and named Kenny Atkinson as his replacement. But less than a week after announcing his hiring, Atkinson decided he wanted to stay with the Golden State Warriors.

The future looks bleak in Charlotte as Miles Bridges may never play in the NBA again after making a breakthrough in the 2021-22 season. That leaves LaMelo Ball as the only building block, and there’s not much to get excited about around him.

The Hornets seem to have been sniffing other lottery picks than him as James Bouknight and Mark Williams have been underwhelming so far. Without Bridges, the franchise is missing another building block. While it’s certainly unlikely, given how many seasons the Hornets are still in control, would Ball end up being traded?

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets & Oklahoma City Thunder Updates

It was something that Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report recently broached in a piece about NBA trades to dream about. Sharing a ball is probably something you’ll only see in a dream or NBA 2K, but wouldn’t it be something if the Oklahoma City Thunder made a deal for him, as Hughes suggested?

Oklahoma City is drowning in design capital and assets. If there’s one franchise in the NBA that could make a competitive offering for any player in the league, it’s the Thunder.

Already in the running for Victor Wembanyama in the 2023 NBA Draft, Charlotte would have a chance for a quick rebuild and turnaround with the assets the Thunder could build a package around.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets & Oklahoma City Thunder Updates

While it almost certainly doesn’t happen, it’s an interesting exercise to see what kind of deals Oklahoma City can put together. Also, Ball’s combination with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the backcourt and Chet Holmgren in the frontcourt would give the Thunder arguably the best young trio in the league to build around.