LaMelo Ball's trade stance emerges as Hornets have become 'disillusioned' with him

After losing to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, a defeat in which he was benched for the final 4:32 of the fourth quarter, LaMelo Ball has become “increasingly frustrated” with the Charlotte Hornets and is open to being traded to a new team, multiple league sources tell Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports. In wake of the report, Ball issued a response on X.

The Pacers entered Wednesday’s game with a 1-13 record and picked up their second victory of the season over the Hornets, who have dropped four straight and are now 4-11. Ball finished the game with 18 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes, but he shot just 5-of-21 from the floor and committed six turnovers.

LaMelo Ball has been on a downward trajectory

The third overall pick in the 2020 draft, Ball won the Rookie of the Year award in 2021 and was named to his first and only All-Star team in 2022. The 6-foot-7 point guard’s career has been derailed by a series of ankle injuries over the past few years, playing just 105 out of 246 possible regular-season games in the three seasons leading up to 2025-26.

Ball has gotten off to a rocky start this season, having missed six games due to a right ankle impingement and struggling with offensive efficiency. Still, Iko points out that Charlotte has been much better when Ball is playing and has struggled mightily when he’s not on the court.

According to Iko, one point of contention for Ball is his desire to play in a more up-tempo offense — the Hornets currently rank 20th in the NBA in pace.

Hornets may want to trade LaMelo Ball

It sounds like the frustration goes both ways. League sources tell Iko Charlotte’s front office has grown “disillusioned” with Ball, no longer views him as a long-term cornerstone and is open to a trade as well.

As Iko writes, while Ball is still young and undeniably talented, it’s unclear how much interest he would generate if he were made available, given his lengthy injury history, lucrative long-term contract, and questions about the way he behaves on the court. Ball is on a maximum-salary deal, which will pay him approximately $168.7M over the next four years.