3-Team NBA Trade Idea Lands Cooper Flagg a New Weapon, Sends Klay to an Old Rival

The LaMelo Ball era with the Charlotte Hornets is slowly coming to an end. If indeed put on the trade block, there's an obvious franchise that needs his services.

The Dallas Mavericks are desperate for anyone who can dribble and shoot to pair with Cooper Flagg. After their success in doing business with the Mavs last season, the Los Angeles Lakers should have their eyes on a pair of former Luka Dončić teammates in Dallas as well.

A three-team trade between the Mavs, Lakers and Hornets could turn Dallas into a contender once again while giving Flagg an elite point guard to grow with.

Full Trade Scenario

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Dallas Mavericks Receive: 

• PG LaMelo Ball (from Hornets)

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: 

• G/F Klay Thompson (from Mavs)

• C Daniel Gafford (from Mavs)

Charlotte Hornets Receive: 

• SG Max Christie (from Mavs)

• F Rui Hachimura (from Lakers)

• F Dalton Knecht (from Lakers)

• PG Gabe Vincent (from Lakers)

• 2029 first-round pick (unprotected via Lakers from Mavericks)

There are no time restrictions on this trade, one that could be completed immediately. The Hornets would need to find a way to open three roster spots, however, which could include an immediate buyout from Vincent, who's on an expiring deal.

The 2029 first-round pick headed to Charlotte is coming from Dallas, which originally came over from Los Angeles in the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis trade last season.

Why the Dallas Mavericks Do It

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Everything the Dallas Mavericks do moving forward needs to center around Cooper Flagg.

The current roster construction is an abomination with no positional balance. Dallas ranks dead last in offensive rating (106.0), even behind teams who are blatantly tanking.

Point guard has been a mess while the team waits for Kyrie Irving to return from a torn ACL. Using Flagg at the position was a mistake, and the Mavs have become the latest team to realize that D'Angelo Russell isn't the answer. The Mavs also rank last in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.48) and are 27th in points created off assists (63.1).

LaMelo Ball has the potential to completely transform this offense.

The 24-year-old is still young enough to grow alongside Flagg and owns career averages of 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals with a 36.0 percent mark from three.

Injuries and play style have stopped Ball from performing like a No. 1 option, although in Dallas he'd only need to be a high-level two or three behind Flagg and Anthony Davis.

Even when Irving returns, the nine-time All-Star has shown the ability to function next to another tall lead guard, as he did before Luka Dončić was traded. We could potentially see a Mavs starting lineup featuring Ball, Irving, Flagg, Davis and Dereck Lively II before the end of the season with P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Russell, Brandon Williams, Caleb Martin, Ryan Nembhard and others off the bench.

As the Mavericks have learned, it takes more than just defense to win championships. Dallas needs a franchise point guard, and the Ball stock has dipped just enough to make him worth the risk.

Why the Los Angeles Lakers Do It

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At 14-4 overall, it's been a successful start to the season even with LeBron James only recently making his 2025-26 debut.

There's no big overhaul to be made here, although a few holes still exist. 

The Lakers could still use a defensive-minded, starting-caliber center to pair with Deandre Ayton on the depth chart and L.A. ranks just 26th overall in made threes per game (11.4) and is 21st in accuracy (34.9 percent).

Daniel Gafford and Klay Thompson could assist in these areas.

Gafford is a former lob target of Luka Dončić who's averaging 10.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.7 blocks and has shot 61.3 percent overall in his 12 starts for Dallas this year.

Thompson was pursued heavily by LeBron James and the Lakers in the summer of 2024 before the veteran wing eventually agreed to join Dončić in Dallas. Los Angeles reportedly offered Thompson a four-year, $80 million deal before he signed with the Mavs for $50 million over three years.

Adding Gafford and Thompson to a core of Dončić, James, Austin Reaves and Ayton would push the Lakers even closer to a title.

Why the Charlotte Hornets Do It

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The Charlotte Hornets have just one winning season (43-39 in 2021-22) and are 149-271 overall since drafting LaMelo Ball.

The 24-year-old was recently benched in the fourth quarter against the red-hot Toronto Raptors, only for the Hornets to erase a 10-point deficit and eventually win in overtime, snapping the Raptors' nine-game win streak.

Ball is averaging just 16.1 points on 33.1 percent shooting overall and 22.2 percent shooting from three over his last seven games, playing some of the worst basketball of his career.

Now is the time to move on for both parties.

Charlotte has assembled a nice young core of talent with Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Ryan Kalkbrenner and others. The trade for Collin Sexton has looked great as well. With a 6-14 record this season, the Hornets are headed towards another high draft pick and should prioritize trading Ball and focusing on the other young talent on the roster.

This trade would return an unprotected 2029 first-round pick via the Lakers when LeBron James will likely be retired or gone from LA. Max Christie, 22, is averaging 12.3 points and shooting 44.6 percent from three this season. Rui Hachimura is connecting on 48.5 percent of his outside attempts en route to his 14.8 points and Dalton Knecht, 24, has strong shooting potential as well.

The Ball era in Charlotte started out strong with a Rookie of the Year award and All-Star appearance. It's produced little else over the past four years, however. Getting a collection of young wings and talented shooting along with a tasty future first-round pick is a nice return for a Hornets team in need of another fresh start.