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As the 2025 NBA Draft approaches (June 25–26), the Charlotte Hornets find themselves in familiar territory: another lottery trip, another year with no clear direction. Despite three straight seasons near the bottom of the standings, they’ve yet to land a top-three pick. This year, they sit at No. 4, hardly a guarantee of transformative talent. Meanwhile, teams like the Mavericks and Spurs have leapfrogged Charlotte in the lottery despite winning significantly more games.
At the center of it all is LaMelo Ball. electric, marketable, and now five years into a Hornets tenure that’s produced more frustration than success. He’s under contract through 2029, but the clock is ticking. LaMelo is entering his prime, and the Hornets have failed to build a stable, competitive roster around him. With little appeal in free agency and no cap space magic trick available, Charlotte faces a tough choice: commit to building around LaMelo now or explore trade options while his value remains high.
Enter the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers are coming off a deep playoff run but are entering a transitional phase. With Kawhi Leonard (33) and James Harden (35) aging, and a roster that ranked as one of the league’s oldest, the pressure to pivot is real. especially with the Lakers’ blockbuster trade for Luka Dončić dominating local headlines. A young star like LaMelo could offer L.A. both relevance and longevity.
The Ball family has made no secret of its desire to see LaMelo return to California. Even former Clipper Lou Williams acknowledged the buzz, stating, “I can see the Clippers making a play for a premier point guard. Ballmer’s always trying to win.” But pulling off a trade won’t be easy. LaMelo’s $203 million extension complicates the cap math, and the Clippers’ asset pool is thin after years of win-now moves.
A realistic deal would need to start with Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac, plus young talent like Bones Hyland and any remaining draft capital. That might not be enough unless a third team gets involved to facilitate more picks going to Charlotte.
So, what should the Hornets demand? First and foremost: draft capital—unprotected or lightly protected first-round picks. Young players with upside on rookie contracts. And ideally, expiring or team-friendly contracts that allow flexibility. A trade for LaMelo has to signal a new era in Charlotte, not just more treading water.
While trading a player of LaMelo’s caliber is always risky, the greater danger may be wasting his prime in a stalled rebuild. If the Hornets can’t make a leap through free agency or internal growth, then maximizing Ball’s value on the trade market could be their best move yet.
More must-reads:
- The curious case of Lakers GM Rob Pelinka: Can he build another title team?
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Boston Celtics Reportedly Interested In 3x NBA All-Star
Ben Simmons is currently a free agent after spending the 2024-25 season with the LA Clippers and Brooklyn Nets. The former LSU star had averages of 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per contest while shooting 52.0% from the field in 51 games. Despite free agency opening up nearly a month ago, Simmons is still available to sign with any team in the league. Recently, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that the Boston Celtics are among the teams with an interest in Simmons. Simmons was the first pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. At one point, he was among the best guard/forwards in the league when he made three All-Star Games with the Philadelphia 76ers.
MLB Insider Makes Brutal Yankees Prediction
New York Yankees fans know all too well how long it's been since the club last won a World Series title. If general manager Brian Cashman doesn't successfully wheel and deal ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline, it's entirely the title drought will continue in the Bronx. And that's not even the worst of it. "The Yankees, even without ace Gerrit Cole, were comfortably cruising along towards another AL East title when the wheels came off, and they have less than two weeks to see if they can find the right mechanic to get them rolling again," USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Sunday. "This is a team that had a seven-game lead in late May, were 17 games over .500 in mid-June, but then were swept by the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels, and still haven’t been the same, losing 19 times in the last 30 games," Nightengale continued. "They are desperate to find a third baseman and another starter in the next 12 days. If they come up empty, they may have trouble just slipping into the postseason," Nightendale concluded. "Sitting home in October would be nothing short of disastrous," Nightengale added for emphasis. The Yankees last missed the playoffs two years ago before returning to the World Series last fall. In seeking its first title since 2009, New York lost the 2024 Fall Classic to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. This year, the Yankees have a 42% chance of winning the American League East, according to FanGraphs. New York has a 49.4% chance of winning an AL wild card, giving them a 91.4% chance overall of reaching the playoffs. The Yankees have a 10% chance of winning the World Series, which is tied with the Detroit Tigers for the best odds in the American League. The Dodgers remain the overall World Series favorites with a 20.8% chance of winning another title. Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more! MLB Trade Rumors: Yankees Linked To Red-Hot Reliever Yankees Linked to Former Outfielder in Juicy Trade Rumor Yankees in Mix for Pirates All-Star Pitcher Yankees Trade Rumors: All-Star Closer On The Market? Yankees Have Competition for Diamondbacks Star
Maple Leafs continue to play moneyball: Three big names in play
With Mitch Marner’s move to the Vegas Golden Knights closing a major chapter in Toronto, GM Brad Treliving made a series of moves to replace his production. He might not be done. Three may be even bolder moves on the horizon. We’ve heard the names Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf before. However, the Maple Leafs are actively fielding and exploring trade scenarios as they look to reshape their roster — and according to Nick Kypreos, a handful of intriguing names are emerging in trade chatter: Morgan Rielly, Brandon Carlo, and former Leafs fan-favorite Nazem Kadri. The most surprising name still generating buzz is Rielly. Despite being a longtime cornerstone on Toronto’s blue line, his $7.5 million cap hit and no-move clause complicate matters. Yet with the team needing help up front, and possible interest in offensive defensemen like Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson, Rielly could become part of a larger plan if he’s open to waiving. Also surprising is the talk surrounding Carlo. A recent addition to the Leafs’ defense corps, he is already being talked about behind the scenes as a potential trade piece. If he were made available, there is interest around the league, as the 6-foot-6 shutdown defender has a team-friendly cap hit and strong penalty-killing ability. Trading Carlo could get the Leafs a top-six forward. Finally, reports on the availability of Kadri remain conflicting. Some say he’s not available, while others suggest that the Calgary Flames would consider the idea. The former Maple Leaf would be a welcome addition back to Toronto, but there isn’t much of a reason for the Flames to trade him unless the return is outstanding. Kadri reportedly would consider waiving his no-move clause for a reunion. That said, getting a deal done won’t be easy, especially with Montreal also rumored to be on his short list. Whether any of these deals come to pass or are just pure speculation, one thing’s sure: the Maple Leafs aren’t standing still. Treliving is trying to get his roster to score more goals. He seems willing to entertain any idea and play Moneyball with the roster if it will help.
The Phillies need to replace this struggling bat at the deadline
Another year, another shot at a championship. Since their last World Series appearance in 2022, a match in which they lost, the Philadelphia Phillies have slid backwards, falling in the NLCS in 2023 and the NLDS in 2024. This year, the Phillies are back on top of the NL East, holding a slim half-game lead over the New York Mets entering Tuesday. Still, their season has been far from spotless. The Phillies have gone through immeasurable difficulties from the bullpen without Jeff Hoffman (signed with Blue Jays), Carlos Estevez (signed with Royals) or Jose Alvarado (PED suspension), especially with Jordan Romano’s descent into the dumpster fire. But with new free-agent signing David Robertson in tow, we can expect some degree of stability from the relief corps going forward — though, not to insinuate that team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is done adding bullpen arms. Another sore spot that received plenty of attention the past few months is in the outfield, left field in particular. Among all qualifying left fielders, Max Kepler maintains the second lowest OPS. Much has been made about potentially replacing him, but as bad as he’s been, there is one Philadelphia infielder that has done even worse. Once a promising bat, second baseman Bryson Stott seems to be reaching rock bottom. Below, you can his stats in comparison to that of Kepler’s: (wRC+: weighted runs created plus represents the culmination of a hitter’s offensive achievements where a value of 100 is MLB’s average) Stott has been more proficient than Kepler at recording hits, but Kepler’s power and higher walk rate gives him the edge in overall offensive stats. It was only in 2023, his second year of MLB action, when Stott hit .280/.329/.414 with 15 home runs. Unfortunately, Stott’s productivity began to slide last season. This year, his slump halted in April when he hit .314 on the month, but it quickly resumed in May (.216), worsened in June (.202) and has reached a fever-pitch in July (.132). If the Phillies are going to claw their way back to the Fall Classic, it may be better if Stott’s bat isn’t in the lineup.
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