5 LaMelo Ball trades that would force the Hornets to pick up the phone

4. San Antonio Spurs

Victor Wembanyama and LaMelo Ball. That’s the vision.

The San Antonio Spurs have a clear franchise centerpiece on their hands with Wembanyama, and now, they need to focus on putting the right pieces around him to help him succeed.

Heading into this summer, adding playmaking help should be one of their top priorities, and that’s where Ball would come in. His dynamic scoring and passing abilities would pair beautifully with Wembanyama on the offensive end.

The Charlotte Hornets would be getting some solid players, but the draft picks would be the star of the show in the deal. With the fourth pick, they could grab two top-10 prospects, as they already own the sixth pick.

Keldon Johnson is a nice forward, and Tre Jones could step in as the Hornets’ starting point guard unless they draft a guard (perhaps Reed Sheppard) with one of their top picks. Blake Wesley also showed some promise toward the end of this past season.

It seems as though the Spurs are going to take their time rather than pushing forward this summer, but if they wanted to trade for a star point guard, Ball wouldn’t be a bad option at all.

And for the Hornets, while their initial instinct would probably be to say no to this deal, adding a top-five pick would be nothing to scoff at.

Potential starting lineups

Spurs: LaMelo Ball, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, Victor Wembanyama

Hornets: Tre Jones, Reed Sheppard(?), Brandon Miller, Grant Williams, Mark Williams