Is this LaMelo Ball's final chance to prove to the Hornets he can stay on the floor?

When it comes to the talent of Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball, there's no denying it - he's one of the most skilled and creative players in the NBA.

For a franchise that owns the longest playoff drought in the league, you would assume that Ball would have an extremely long leash because players of his caliber don't just fall into your lap all of the time. Take two of the last three draft lotteries, for example. They fell shy of Victor Wembanyama and also missed out on Cooper Flagg.

But at some point, the organization may have to make the difficult decision to move on from him. No, this isn't me pushing some agenda like most Charlotte/LaMelo fans would assume. This is a serious conversation that will be had behind closed doors and in some capacity, probably already has.

How much longer should the Hornets give him to prove that he can stay on the court? Through the end of his current contract? That's four more years of being on the team's payroll in which he would average $42.1 million per season.

Yes, I'm aware that his "shutdown" at the end of the season was more based on precaution due to where the team was late in the year rather than something continuing to ail him, but still, he missed some time throughout the season as well.

$42M per year is a ton of cash being forked out to someone who has missed 148 games over the past four seasons. That money could be spent on someone, or perhaps a pair of players who have a history of being durable and can deepen/strengthen the rotation.

You could argue that trading him this offseason makes sense, but it would be pulling the plug a little prematurely, in my opinion.

It is a fine line that Jeff Peterson will have to walk, though. You don't want to hold onto him; he plays in 35 games and loses significant trade value. But you also don't want to move him and see that he's able to stay on the floor and develop into a perennial All-Star. That scenario can get someone fired.

The best bet is to ride out this next season to gather more data, and if it's more of the same, you try to move on, get something in return (even at lesser value), and find a replacement. The Hornets' rebuild can't fully get off the ground if one of their key pieces and most expensive player is on the shelf the majority of the time.

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