With Charles Lee coming in as the head coach, the Charlotte Hornets seem to be focused on building a foundation for their future. Led by LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and the newly-re-signed Miles Bridges, Lee and the Hornets are determined to do things right.
For the past two years, the Hornets have been one of the worst teams in basketball, despite the fact that they made the Play-In Tournament in each of the prior two seasons.
Injuries certainly took their tole, and that’s something to seriously consider when talking about Ball, too. Can he stay on the court? Is he a reliable star to rebuild around?
Well, a recent mock trade written by Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report takes the stance that the answer to that question is “no.” The mock deal would send Ball to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team trade that also includes the Sacramento Kings.
Mock trade sees Hornets deal LaMelo Ball to Lakers in 3-team trade with Kings
Here are the full details of the mock deal Hughes wrote:
The Hornets would get back Dalton Knecht, who was the Lakers’ first-overall pick this year, as well as a massive haul of draft picks to help set themselves up for a bright future.
Meanwhile, the Lakers would land a point guard to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as well as a guy to play with Davis once James retires.
Lastly, the Kings would get involved here to land some forward depth in Rui Hachimura, as the Hornets probably wouldn’t want him in this deal.
Let’s grade the deal, for all three teams, starting with the Kings, then moving onto the Lakers, and lastly, the Hornets.
Grade the Trade: Kings get Rui Hachimura in mock deal with Hornets, Lakers
Incoming: Rui Hachimura
Outgoing: Kevin Huerter, 2026 second-round pick (via SAC)
As noted, the Sacramento Kings would be involved in this trade as a facilitator to help the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers get a deal done. Most of the moving parts would be between those two teams.
That said, Kevin Huerter getting traded in the deal is an interesting tidbit. He had a relatively rough shooting year in Sacramento last year, but this deal still doesn’t seem ideal for the Kings.
Hurter shot 36.1% from beyond the arc last season on 5.3 attempts per game. That’s way down from what he shot during his first season in Sacramento the year prior—40.2% on 6.8 attempts per game.
However, it’s still not a terrible percentage, and the Kings could bank on the fact that Huerter has always been a solid shooter and hope for a bounce-back season next year.
Adding Rui Hachimura would give them a forward replacement to make up for the loss of Harrison Barnes in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade, but DeRozan already provides that replacement.
This trade would effectively be trading a wing for a forward, and at this point, the Kings shouldn’t be doing that. Their wing depth is a bit more important.
Hachimura is a fine defender, but he’s not a reliable three-point shooter and never has been. Losing Huerter and a pick for him doesn’t make much sense for the Kings.
Grade: D
Grade the Trade: Lakers get LaMelo Ball in mock deal with Hornets, Kings
Incoming: LaMelo Ball
Outgoing: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht, 2026 first-round swap (via LAL), 2028 first-round swap (via LAL), 2029 first-round pick (via LAL; unprotected), 2031 first-round pick (via LAL; top-1 protected, converts to 2031 second-round pick if not conveyed), 2025 second-round pick (most favorable of LAL or LAC), 2030 second-round pick (via LAL)
After getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs this past season, the Los Angeles Lakers made a huge change, firing Darvin Ham and bringing in JJ Redick to be their next head coach. This would be another massive shift.
Obviously, when he’s on the court, Ball is one of the most impressive point guards in the league, on top of being one of the NBA’s best playmakers at such a young age.
The 22-year-old is amazing. But he’s never on the court.
For a Lakers team that has dealt with a ton of injury concerns throughout the years, trading for another guy who could have problems staying on the hardwood would be a questionable decision.
And even if Ball were able to consistently stay on the court, this would still be a massive haul for the Lakers. They would be sending out their entire draft cabinet for one player to form a Big 3 that will end in a couple of years when James inevitably retires.
Giving up Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino isn’t a big deal, but punting on Dalton Knecht before he ever plays a snap in the purple and gold is a bit risky, especially considering how solid he looked during Summer League.
At the end of the day, the Lakers would be getting an All-Star, and if Ball stays healthy, it would likely elevate them into a sure-fire playoff team and potentially a contender.
That said, that’s a big “if.”
Grade: C+
Grade the Trade: Hornets trade LaMelo Ball to Lakers in 3-team deal with Kings
Incoming: Kevin Huerter, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht, 2026 first-round swap (via LAL), 2028 first-round swap (via LAL), 2029 first-round pick (via LAL; unprotected), 2031 first-round pick (via LAL; top-1 protected, converts to 2031 second-round pick if not conveyed), 2025 second-round pick (most favorable of LAL or LAC), 2026 second-round pick (via SAC), 2030 second-round pick (via LAL)
Outgoing: LaMelo Ball
This trade would see the Charlotte Hornets get an absolute haul. They would get a ton of draft picks and a quality rookie in Dalton Knecht, who could help them mightily moving forward.
If the Hornets were determined to completely reset around Brandon Miller, this would be a solid deal. If they wanted to move on from LaMelo Ball and his injury issues, this would be a solid deal.
But it doesn’t seem as though they want to do those things.
Based on the way the Hornets have approached this offseason, they seem focused on building around their young core and shaping their future the right way. And Ball is the centerpiece of those plans. (Well, him and Brandon Miller.)
Ball’s elite playmaking is crucial to the Hornets’ success, and his shot-making leads the way in Charlotte. And that’s without even mentioning how much his star power helps their organization’s brand. He’s the face of the franchise.
Sure, getting Knecht and a ton of picks would be cool, but it’s not worth giving up Ball for, despite his plethora of injury problems.
Rather than looking to trade Ball, the Hornets should continue to focus on building out the team around him.
Grade: C-