Trade Proposal Sends LaMelo Ball To Lakers, Rui Hachimura To Kings, Kevin Huerter, Dalton Knecht To Hornets

One NBA analyst proposed a three-team trade idea between the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings. 

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report proposed the mock trade:

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: LaMelo Ball

Charlotte Hornets Receive: 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)

Sacramento Kings Receive: Rui Hachimura

The Hornets and Kings missed the playoffs in 2024, while the Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round in five games. 

Ball only played in 22 games in 2023-24 due to a right ankle injury. He averaged 23.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists 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 and 7.4 assists. 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. 

The Lakers hired JJ Redick as their new head coach. Redick signed a four-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $8 million per season.

If this mock trade happened, Los Angeles would have a “Big 3” of Ball, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. 

“A Southern California native, Ball plays a style that’ll conjure memories of the Showtime Lakers,” Hughes wrote in his NBA trade proposal. “Flashy, daring, sometimes reckless—he’s an open-floor artist who takes risks and generates highlights. That’ll play under the Los Angeles spotlight. Presumably, Ball will be more likely to ditch the off-court issues and embrace the maturation process many hope to see if he’s surrounded by veterans and legends.

“Landing a young player with Ball’s productive history and massive upside, even with the injury issues looming, won’t be easy. The Lakers have to cough up this year’s first-rounder, Knecht, plus control of four more firsts to get it done. Not only that, but Los Angeles also has to send out enough salary to match Ball’s $35.1 million salary in 2024-25.”