During the 2021 NBA summer league, the Charlotte Hornets got a massive amount of attention. The summer squad featured first-round picks James Bouknight and Kai Jones. However, those guys were not the reason everyone was talking about the Hornets. That honor went to LiAngelo Ball.
Charlotte Hornets: 3 reasons LiAngelo Ball makes sense for Swarm
Ball played above expectations in the five summer league games Charlotte played. He averaged 9.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 17.4 minutes of playing time, earning him praise from head coach James Borrego.
"“I’m comfortable with LiAngelo and how he played,” Borrego said during the Hornets media day. “I can only speak for what he did on the floor in Vegas, and I thought he performed well and opened eyes and played at a higher level than I expected,”"
After the summer league, Ball was left off the Hornets 20-man training camp roster, but that did not stop the team from keeping him around the organization.
On Oct. 14, the Hornets signed Ball to a non-guaranteed contract. The next day he was cut, allowing Charlotte to maintain his G-league rights.
Now that Ball is almost guaranteed to play for the Swarm this season, we will look at three reasons why the signing is a good move.