ESPN analysts still believe LaMelo Ball's Hornets future is unsettled

The Charlotte Hornets have made no indication that LaMelo Ball is available. In fact, everything they've done suggests he's not available for trade. He himself has also plainly said he doesn't want to be traded out of Charlotte, so any speculation about that happening is not based on anything he or the team did.

Still, whenever there's a high-profile athlete on a bad team, trade discussions are inevitable. Tim McMahon and Tim Bontemps, two ESPN analysts, discussed Ball's situation with the Hornets while analyzing the over/under win total set by ESPN Bet.

Bontemps said he was taking the under 24.5 wins before adding, "One of the more interesting things to look at going forward: what is the LaMelo Ball situation in Charlotte going to be? As this year plays out, that will be something we'll probably start to figure out. If they do win 30-something games and LaMelo plays 65-70, he's good and healthy, that'll look one way. If it's another 45-game season for him and they win 20, it might look a different way."

McMahon added, "If LaMelo plays really well early in the season, it could be an interesting trade deadline." The ESPN insider believes that if Ball's trade stock rises in the first few months of the season, the Hornets could think about cashing in and filling their asset pile even more.

This is not based on anything the Hornets have said, though. They just spent the fourth overall pick on Kon Knueppel because he fits well alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. A front office executive literally said that about Knueppel and Liam McNeeley, so there's nothing coming from inside the building about a potential trade.

Bontemps' point might be worth consideration, though. If Ball can't stay healthy again, then it's fair to wonder if the Hornets' opinion of their star player might change. If he is healthy and the team improves from 2024-25, then it's all a moot point. In their eyes, though, this remains a situation worth monitoring.

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