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Trade Landing Spots for LaMelo Ball During 2025 NBA Offseason
Could a basically buzz-free campaign spur the Charlotte Hornets toward a basketball world-rocking LaMelo Ball trade during the 2025 NBA offseason?
That depends who you ask.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps reported the Hornets have "no interest" in cutting ties with their franchise floor general. However, HoopsHype's Michael Scotto relayed that Ball is one of the stars rival executives "will be monitoring on the trade market this summer."
Is that wishful thinking on the part of those rival execs? Perhaps, but the idea of a Ball blockbuster surfacing this summer hardly sounds outlandish. Not when they're routinely buried at the bottom of the standings and he's battling both injuries and inefficiency. And let's not forget, his colossal contract was put in place by the organization's previous ownership and management group.
If nothing else, discussing this kind of megadeal feels like a useful (and fun as heck) thought exercise, so let's dive right in with a list of potential landing spots should the 23-year-old wind up on the move.
Brooklyn Nets
1 of 5
Brooklyn might be a bottom-feeder for now, but the plan isn't to languish much longer.
The Nets, who will have more cap space than anyone this offseason, "are planning on going star searching either in free agency or by using that room to acquire a big name via trade," per ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
Names don't get much bigger than Ball, as his 10.6 million Instagram followers can attest. Plus, his flashy game and charisma both feel like natural fits for the Association's biggest market.
The Nets, of course, will be looking for more than name recognition, but there's substance beneath all of his sizzle. His blend of size (6'7") and table-setting is rivaled by few others, and his stat sheets are routinely stuffed to the brim. He's on course to become just the sixth player ever with career averages of at least 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Brooklyn doesn't have a wealth of win-now talent to send back to Charlotte, but that shouldn't be the focus for the Hornets in a Ball trade. They need tools to help them reshape their roster, and the Nets can offer plenty of draft picks and substantial financial relief.
Chicago Bulls
2 of 5
No, this isn't just a ploy for the Bulls to rebrand as the Balls with LaMelo hypothetically joining older brother Lonzo in the Windy City.
That said, their games would be hand-in-glove fits with one another, as LaMelo's creation and quick-strike scoring and Lonzo's off-ball utility and two-way playmaking would help emphasize the other's strengths and mask their weaknesses.
This is more about giving direction to a franchise in desperate need of it. The Bulls have been perpetually stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place by neither going all-in on the present nor fully committing to a rebuild.
Bringing in LaMelo and tailoring the team around him would provide Chicago with an actual purpose.
If the Bulls could just keep him upright, his gravitational pull on defenders and preternatural passing vision would maximize this core's offensive potential. Whether throwing lobs to Matas Buzelis, finding a streaking Coby White in the open floor or feeding open looks to whichever spacers stick around, Ball's impact on this offense would be immediate and immense.
If Chicago could talk Charlotte into taking back a sign-and-traded Josh Giddey, the Bulls could flesh out their offer with a few first-round picks and young players with upward mobility, such as Dalen Terry, Julian Phillips or—if the Hornets are really bullish about their developmental program—even Patrick Williams.
New Orleans Pelicans
3 of 5
New Orleans' season was such an injury-riddled mess that the Pelicans might just hit the self-destruct button this summer and start over. Then again, perhaps it's still too early for this franchise to abandon hope on its own oft-injured-but-still-spectacular superstar Zion Williamson.
"This summer, I think, is the moment of truth for the Pelicans and for Zion Williamson," ESPN's Shams Charania told The Pat McAfee Show. "... My educated, knowledge-based look at this situation is the Pelicans and Zion Williamson have to have a sit-down this summer and really get on the same page."
If the Pels, who dealt Brandon Ingram at the deadline, push forward with Williamson, they could again try to find the right co-star for him. Would they be willing to tempt fate and take on another enormous injury risk with Ball? The potential pitfalls of such a pickup are obvious and profuse, but the ceiling for a Williamson-Ball duo might sit high enough to roll the dice.
New Orleans, which could build an offer around draft picks, prospects like Jordan Hawkins and Yves Missi and either Dejounte Murray or CJ McCollum to make the money work, has been a tantalizing if-healthy team for a while now.
Adding Ball to the mix would push that identity farther to the extremes, upping the risk factor but also increasing the potential reward should everything finally break in the franchise's favor.
Orlando Magic
4 of 5
The Orlando Magic are a functional offense away from truly breaking out. At some point, the front office has to attack this deficiency, right?
The Magic can, should and do pride themselves on their third-ranked defense, but their 27th-ranked offense caps even potential growth.
If Ball makes it to the trade block, he might be the most obvious need-filler for Orlando. It needs more shooting, perimeter scoring and inventiveness on the offensive end, and he'd deliver all three the second he hit the hardwood.
Now, could there be some early challenges in finding the right balance of touches between Ball, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner? Sure, but for a team so often starved for scoring, rostering three players who pump in 24-plus points per night would sound awfully appealing, right?
Ball could kick-start their transition game, buy them more breathing room in the half-court and even help create cleaner scoring chances for Wagner and Banchero.
Orlando's pitch would be easily formed, too. The Magic, who own all of their own draft picks and have additional selections in both rounds, could essentially allow the Hornets to build a reasonable trade request involving anyone not named Banchero or Wagner.
Toronto Raptors
5 of 5
The Raptors don't necessarily need Ball. Not when they already have a capable starting point guard in Immanuel Quickley, whom they gave a five-year, $175 million pact last summer.
What they do need, though, is more juice in their 26th-ranked offense. While their deadline deal for Brandon Ingram could help that ranking, it's highly unlikely he'll launch it anywhere near the top 10.
If Toronto wants to make that kind of leap—and the assembling of this win-very-soon core suggests it's hopeful for elevation—then it needs an offensive star, and Ball wears that label more convincingly than anyone residing north of the border.
Put him on the Raptors' roster, and he would immediately slot in as their go-to scorer, primary playmaker and highest-volume shooter.
If Charlotte has interest in a package built around Quickley and RJ Barrett, that should help keep the draft-pick costs down in a deal. The Raptors would still need to send out some sweeteners, obviously, but they shouldn't have to empty the cupboards the way other suitors might.
That means they might have the ability to make additional moves, an intoxicating proposition for those believing that a lineup featuring Ball, Ingram, Gradey Dick, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl could make some noise in the Eastern Conference sooner than later.
