Mar 5, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) controls the ball as he is defended by Minnesota Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (00) during the first half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

NBA insider questions how long LaMelo Ball will put up with Hornets' losing

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Mar 6, 2025 10:19 AM ET

The narrative surrounding LaMelo Ball is that he's not a winning player and that he doesn't care about winning. He's been criticized for playing like it's a pick-up game in which winning and losing doesn't matter. Most professional athletes generally care about winning, though, and according to NBA insider Mike Scotto, Ball really does.

Scotto revealed on the SportsNet podcast that Ball has a desire to win and then questioned whether or not the player would even want to stick around for when the Charlotte Hornets do win. "How much longer? This is now gonna be the 5th season," Scotto said. "At the end of the day, not winning affected him not being an All-Star with Charlotte. On paper, he had the numbers. He wants to win competitively, from what I've been told."

The Hornets have been in the play-in game twice as the 10th seed in Ball's tenure, but they've been blown out and forced back into the lottery both times. They haven't always looked like a team with a promising future, and their current form certainly doesn't resemble that, either. They've lost eight in a row and 17 of 19.

There is a debate over whether or not the Hornets can or should keep Ball and continue building around him. The current roster, which has largely been built around Ball, is failing. Per Scotto, the decision may not even be up to the Hornets to make.

In today's NBA, players have a lot of leverage. They move around (or don't, in some instances) of their own accord. Trade requests in the NBA mean a lot more than in other sports most of the time. If Ball decides he wants to win and wants out of Charlotte, which currently would be a surprise given what he's said and the fact that he signed a long-term extension, the Hornets would have little other choice.