NBA Rumors: LiAngelo Ball Waived by Hornets Ahead of 2022-23 Regular Season

The Charlotte Hornets are set to waive wing LiAngelo Ball on Saturday with the start of the 2022-23 NBA regular season just days away, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Ball, who is the older brother of Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and younger brother of Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Hornets in September.

He appeared in three preseason games for Charlotte but didn't finish with more than two points in any outing.

The 23-year-old Ball played for the Hornets' Summer League team in 2021 and spent the 2021-22 season with the Greensboro Swarm, which is the Hornets' G League affiliate.

In 28 games for the Swarm, Ball averaged 4.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 three-pointers made while shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Ball had been set to play college basketball at UCLA like his older brother Lonzo, but he was suspended from the team in 2017 for allegedly stealing sunglasses from a store during a team trip to China.

He never played a regular-season game for the Bruins and instead pursued a professional career for Prienai of the Lithuanian Basketball League. He later played for the Los Angeles Ballers of the now-defunct Junior Basketball Association.

Both LaMelo and Lonzo have enjoyed varying degrees of success in the NBA. LaMelo has thrived in particular since Charlotte selected him third overall in the 2020 NBA draft, winning the 2020-21 NBA Rookie of the Year award and earning an All-Star selection last season.

Since it is unlikely that another team will give LiAngelo an NBA contract, he may have to return to the G League or perhaps try his hand at playing professionally overseas in hopes of getting the attention of an NBA organization.