Austin Rivers called the Charlotte Hornets’ recent bout against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The gig gave him the opportunity to connect with people within the organization, and he recently shared its stance on LaMelo Ball. Simply put, it appears the star is staying put.
After talking with the front office and head coach Charles Lee, Rivers realized that the Hornets “love Melo.” He also added, “For everything that people see him as or not, they have another side to it.”
For instance, while folks perceive Ball as immature, the team views it as just being happy. Rivers also brought up when Dwight Howard carried his Orlando Magic team to the 2009 Finals despite being labeled an unserious player, and that the only reason the Magic failed to capture the ring was because of a “top-tier Kobe Bryant.”
The former guard turned analyst also brought up an interesting question: Would teams rather have a quiet Kawhi Leonard than Ball? Naturally, many would choose Leonard. After all, he was the best player in multiple championship-winning squads. On the one hand, now that he is stuck on a much less talented LA Clippers crew, his negative qualities and unpredictability have been in the limelight.
Moving forward with LaMelo Ball
If it isn’t clear already, the Hornets plan on keeping Ball. How long that remains the reality remains to be seen. But at the moment, there’s no reason to think that the star will end up elsewhere after this season’s trade deadline.
Such a scenario likely wouldn’t be as bad as some anticipate. It’s easy to say that Ball’s demeanor makes it hard to perceive him as a winning player. In his defense, we haven’t really watched him take the floor with a dependable supporting cast before this campaign.
This year has been different, especially with the arrival of Kon Knueppel, although his injuries have prevented him from proving what he can do with the talent around him. The results whenever he does suit up with Knueppel and Brandon Miller have been promising, as Charlotte is 6-5 when all three play together.
And Melo has not even had to change his approach to the game that much. He still looks like he’s having fun on the court and has displayed a penchant for going for theatrical plays, including fancy passes and deep threes. There aren’t even rumors of any of his teammates expressing frustration with his playstyle and the way he carries himself.
So, Ball is not going anywhere. Rivers’s observation only guarantees even more that the franchise is moving forward with one of its established cornerstones.