The Charlotte Hornets seem ready and willing to move on from NBA All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball.
According to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday night, the Hornets are actively engaged in trade talks with “multiple teams” to make a deal for Ball, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
“Another NBA star’s name who is picking up steam in the NBA trade market as we finish up NBA draft week and head toward free agency is Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball,” Charania said on Wednesday night. “Multiple teams are strongly pursuing LaMelo Ball and the Hornets are engaged (in talks), I’m told … Ball does want to be in Charlotte but this is an organization fielding some aggressive offers.”
Ball is playing on a 5-year, $203.8 million contract extension he signed in July 2023 that runs through the end of the 2028-29 season and could be worth up to $260 million with incentives.
LaMelo Ball: NBA Superstar With Huge Fanbase
Through the 1st 6 seasons of his career, Ball is something of an NBA anomaly — a superstar player with a worldwide fan base who plays in a small market on 1 of the league’s worst teams.
It just doesn’t make sense, but Ball has the sort of name recognition that players with NBA titles wish they had in terms of fame and marketability.
The Hornets have never made the playoffs with Ball on the roster, although the 2025-26 season was the 1st time Charlotte had experienced team success with him in the fold — the Hornets went 44-38 and lost in the play-in round.
Ball was seemingly at his best as well, playing in 72 games — the most for him since the 2021-22 season — while averaging 20.8 points, 7.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals.
To this point, perhaps the defining aspect of Ball’s career has been his unavailability. In 6 seasons, he’s played in just 303 out of a possible 492 regular-season games.
Social Media Reacts to LaMelo Ball Trade Talks
Ball’s talent and cache make him an attractive trade option for plenty of teams, and social media reacted swiftly to Charania’s report that he could be headed somewhere other than Charlotte for the 1st time in his career.
“The Timberwolves and Raptors have emerged as two of the teams with trade interest in Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, league sources tell me,” NBA Reporter Marc Stein wrote on his official X account on Wednesday night.
“LaMelo Ball has drawn trade interest from several teams, including the Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves, sources confirm,” Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto wrote on his official X account. “Toronto originally expressed trade interest in Ball during the summer of 2025 and renewed talks with the Charlotte Hornets over the past few days.”
“If the price is met, we could see potential movement here with LaMelo Ball in the coming days,” Sharania added.
“If the Minnesota Timberwolves trade for LaMelo Ball, keep an eye on the three-team trade that the Wolves agreed to with the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls becoming an expanded trade to include the Charlotte Hornets,” Spotrac’s Keith Smith wrote on his official X account. “That would allow Minnesota to use Julius Randle and the outgoing salary-match (he’d still end up Brooklyn). Would need other pieces involved too but could work for the teams involved.”
Report: Multiple Teams ‘Strongly Pursuing’ Trade for Hornets’ $203 Million All-Star