Hornets Trade LaMelo Ball to Wolves for Reid, Draft Capital
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Charlotte Hornets traded LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to Minnesota for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three second-round picks and three first-round pick swaps in a four-team deal that also involved Brooklyn and Chicago.
- Jeff Peterson called it "probably the most difficult" decision of his career, framing the trade as building toward a championship rather than chasing a single play-in spot.
- Ball averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 36.8% from three in 72 games last season, but played only 105 total games across 2022-23 through 2024-25 because of injuries.
- Peterson said the deal was not financially motivated, noting Ball had three years left on his contract and was eligible for a two-year, $119.2 million extension.
- Charlotte signed free-agent guard Coby White to a three-year, $74 million contract to help replace Ball's playmaking alongside rookie Kon Knueppel.
- Brandon Miller underwent surgery in early May to address left shoulder instability and is out indefinitely; Peterson said the Hornets are actively working on a contract extension for the third-year forward.
- Charlotte has not reached the playoffs since 2016 — the longest active postseason drought in the NBA — despite a 44-win season that represented the league's second-best year-over-year turnaround.
Why it matters: Charlotte is trading a 24-year-old former All-Star coming off his healthiest season in years because Peterson believes the franchise needs draft capital and roster flexibility to escape a nine-year playoff drought and contend for titles, not just play-in games. With Ball's potential $119.2 million extension looming and ownership aligned on the direction, the Hornets are explicitly choosing a longer rebuild over one more push with their incumbent core.
