LaMelo Ball appeared to dispute a report suggesting that he’s open to being traded out of Charlotte.
The Hornets star posted a clown emoji in response to a social media post about a Yahoo Sports report published Friday morning (AEDT) that said he was “frustrated”.
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According to the report, Ball is said to be open to a trade, having grown frustrated with the organisation and the Hornets’ front office becoming disillusioned with him.
The reported turn in the relationship from Ball comes after the Hornets dropped to 4-11 with a loss to the Pacers on Wednesday night, a game Ball sat out the last 4:32 of regulation.
From the team’s perspective, according to the report, they’ve shifted their view on the 24-year-old and his ability to be a key piece to the franchise’s long-term plans, with the Hornets being “increasingly hesitant.”
The Hornets, who are also open to trading Ball elsewhere, reportedly seem more willing to build their offensive system around Brandon Miller and rookie Kon Knueppel.
However, Bleacher Report’s NBA insider Jake Fischer said on his live stream on Friday that he could report with “absolute certainty that the Hornets are not actively looking to move LaMelo Ball anytime soon”.
One thing that could make moving Ball difficult is his contract, which is slated to pay him $37.9 million ($A59m) in 2025-26, since he still has more than $130 million ($A202m) coming to him over the next three years of the deal following this season.
Ball has played in nine games this season and has dealt with a right ankle injury.
He’s averaged 21.6 points, 9.6 assists and 6.9 rebounds this season.
Charlotte is 12th in the Eastern Conference ahead of only the Nets, Pacers and Wizards.
The Hornets’ only wins this season have come against the Nets, Wizards, Jazz and Bucks.
— New York Post
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‘SCAPEGOAT’ DESTINED FOR DIVORCE WITH WARRIORS
While there are competing reports on Ball’s future in Charlotte, there seems to be far more clarity surrounding Jonathan Kuminga’s standing in Golden State.
While Kuminga came to an agreement on a two-year extension with the Warriors before the season tipped off, the two-year, $46.8 million ($A73m) contract with a team option in the second year was very tradeable.
All indications at the time were that Kuminga and the Warriors were still destined for a divorce and that remains true according to NBA insider Marc Stein, who wrote in his latest newsletter on Substack that “anticipation grows in various corners of the league that Kuminga will be dealt” before the February 5 trade deadline.
In fact, one veteran executive called Kuminga and his contract “one of the best trade chips in the league”.
Kuminga was one of Golden State’s better players earlier in the season, averaging 17.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting 41.4 per cent from deep as the Warriors opened the year on a roll.
But things have cooled off since then, with Kuminga averaging 9.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in his past five games while shooting 15.4 per cent from 3-point land.
Turnovers have also started to creep into his game and in search of a spark, Golden State coach Steve Kerr recently demoted Kuminga to the bench.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported that has seen tensions between Kuminga and the coaching staff from last season resurface, with one team source claiming he “feels like the scapegoat again”.
In other words, once again this seems destined for a divorce.
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LATEST ON WHAT’S NEXT FOR MAVS AFTER LUKA DISASTER
Elsewhere, all eyes remain on Dallas to see what the Mavericks do after firing general manager Nico Harrison.
Owner Mark Cuban emphatically denied the team would be shopping injured superstar Anthony Davis, who was the key piece of the Luka Doncic trade that led to Harrison’s downfall.
“We won’t (because) we want to try to win,” Cuban said in a statement provided to The Athletic.
The problem for the Mavericks is that they aren’t winning, currently sitting 13th in the Western Conference with a 4-12 record. The eighth-seed Warriors, for context, have a 9-8 record while the defending champions Oklahoma City lead the way with 15 wins from their first 16 games.
Stein reported in his latest newsletter that Cuban’s comments haven’t “really affected much in terms of Davis’ actual status”, with league sources claiming Dallas still plans to field any trade interest in the veteran.
The big question, of course, is how much they will be able to get in return for an injury-prone player like Davis, especially given they aren’t in much of a position of power at the bargaining table.
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After all, the Mavericks can say everything they want about contending for a title but it is clear they won’t be able to challenge the heavyweights of the Western Conference and without control of any of its first-round picks from 2027 to 2030, Dallas is incentivised to trade its veterans for future assets to build around cornerstone piece Cooper Flagg.
Stein reported that Daniel Gafford is likely to generate the “most robust trade market” of any Mavericks player.
Only complicating matters for Dallas is news that Australian guard Dante Exum is set to undergo season-ending surgery, leaving the Mavericks lacking in backcourt depth with Kyrie Irving out indefinitely after undergoing knee surgery in late March.
Speaking of Irving, sources told Stein the Mavericks are “not encouraging trade inquiries” for him.