Blockbuster Trade Proposal Sends Hornets’ LaMelo Ball To Warriors

One NBA analyst proposed that the Golden State Warriors trade for Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball.

Dan Favale of Bleacher Report proposed the following mock trade between the Warriors and Hornets:

Charlotte Hornets Receive: Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Andrew Wiggins, 2026 first-round pick, 2027 first-round swap, 2028 first-round pick, 2029 first-round swap, 2030 first-round pick (protected Nos. 21 to 30)

Golden State Warriors Receive: LaMelo Ball

Ball only played in 22 games this past season due to a right ankle injury. He averaged 23.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.2 blocks while shooting 43.3% from the field, 35.5% from beyond the arc and 86.5% from the free-throw line. 

The Hornets drafted Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Ball has career averages of 20.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.3 blocks. He won the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year Award and made the 2022 All-Star team.

Ball signed a five-year, $204 million extension with the Hornets last summer. He will make $35.3 million next season. 

“LaMelo comes with plenty of risk, but he does a better job of straddling now and later for the Dubs than someone like Lauri Markkanen,” Favale wrote. “His passing and shot-making is more equipped to sustain an offense as the central option. And while his finishing still leaves much to be desired, he did a better job attacking all the way downhill before getting injured last year.

“Bankrolling his five-year, $203.9 million deal shouldn’t faze the Warriors—if he’s healthy. They’re already interested in Markkanen, and he will cost more per year if he commands anything near his max. If they’re prepared to pay him and Jonathan Kuminga moving forward, the calculus shouldn’t change when it comes to LaMelo.”

The Hornets and Warriors missed the playoffs in 2024.

Golden State could have drafted Ball in 2020, but the franchise made a mistake and selected James Wiseman instead. 

Four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson left the Warriors for the Dallas Mavericks this offseason in free agency. Golden State’s front office can prove to Stephen Curry that winning is still a priority by going all in for Ball.