LaMelo Ball Reportedly Has Let It Be Known That He Wants To Be Traded Out Of Charlotte

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If someone were to ask you to close your eyes and predict the first trade demand of the 2025-26 NBA season, who would you say? 

Giannis? Domantas Sabonis? Ja Morant? Zion? Jonathan Kuminga? Anthony Davis? 

Those are the names we've heard since the summer and then into the first month of the NBA season, but in reality, it's none of them

Following the Hornets’ disappointing road loss to the 2-13 Indiana Pacers — their fourth straight, dropping Charlotte to 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 4-11 record — star guard LaMelo Ball has grown increasingly frustrated with the organization and is open to a trade away from the franchise, multiple league sources told Yahoo Sports.

League sources say the front office is increasingly hesitant about cementing Ball as a long-term foundational piece, has become disillusioned with the 24-year-old and is open to moving him. Ball has appeared in just nine games this season due to a right ankle injury. Despite Charlotte’s slow start, there have been a few bright spots, notably the impressive early performances from rookies Knueppel and Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Should both sides decide to explore the trade market in the near future, Ball is still young enough to warrant intrigue around the league, but his albatross price tag may give pause to rival front offices. Ball, who will earn $37.9 million this season still has over $130 million remaining over the next three years following the 2025-26 campaign — in addition to a lengthy injury history and whispers about his on-court comportment.

OK, so not a full-fledged trade demand by LaMelo in the conventional sense, but it's effectively the same thing. At least that's how I take this reporting. You don't float out that you are "open to a trade away from the franchise" unless you are basically playing the trade demand card. 

When it comes to LaMelo as a player, there's no denying he's entertaining as hell when he's healthy and on the floor

But despite his obvious talent, things haven't exactly translated to wins for the Hornets. He represents a fascinating debate in my opinion. Is this a Hornets problem or a LaMelo problem? Is he destined to just be a good stats on a bad team guy, or does all he needs is a change in scenary? You see that all the time in sports. Sometimes, a guy just needs a fresh start. Maybe a team with more structure, maybe a team where he can fill a different role than being the franchise player. Say the Warriors drafted LaMelo back in 2020 instead of James Wiseman. How different does his career/perception as a player look? There's a GIGANTIC difference in the Warriors culture/system/coaching etc, than what he's had as a Hornet, and for young players I do think that stuff matters. They also need to give a shit and actually be committed to winning and all that, so LaMelo does have to own that part. 

With how good guys like Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller look, it's not crazy to think the Hornets might be interested in getting out of that LaMelo deal and moving forward with a different group. That means it's time to flip the asset, which means finding a partner to take this contract on (in addition to everything that comes with it)

which remember, in this new CBA world isn't exactly the easiest thing. Teams are more protective of their cap space than ever, and forking over a quarter of your space for any player isn't exactly as much of a no brainer as it was just a few years ago.

So who could that team be? The first team that came to mind was the Clippers. Why? James Harden is 36 years old and makes $39M (player option for $42M next year). The Clippers will have plenty of space after this season, so LaMelo's long term money isn't a huge deal for them. Plus, this may end up being a season to sell pieces if they continue to sink to the bottom of the West, so why not flip Harden for the point guard of your future? 

What about the Kings? We know they are looking to flip Sabonis' money, and they could probably use a point guard upgrade at the moment. Plus, the Kings trading for LaMelo just feels like something the KANGZ would do. 

What about the Mavs? With Kyrie coming off an ACL and the rumors that they are looking to flip AD, could that be an option? If they're smashing the rebuild button, why not give Cooper Flagg a pass first point guard to play next to? That also could allow Kyrie to play more off ball and not have to carry such a heavy load coming off injury.

The point is, once we get to this stage, it's really only a matter of "when" and not "if" the player is traded. Now it's just about trying to figure out who that team might be, but it's early. A lot can happen between now and the trade deadline, so there could be a team out there that we aren't even thinking about right now. I'm just saying don't be surprised when we get the Shams notification announcing it, because that's coming.