NBA Insider Reveals Which East Team Pursued LaMelo Ball Trade Before 2025 NBA Season

Coming off a disappointing 30-52 record last season, the Toronto Raptors attempted to shake things up with their roster over the summer by gauging the Charlotte Hornets' interest in trading LaMelo Ball.

Per HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, the Raptors "checked in" on Ball's availability during the offseason.

It would be interesting to know if the Raptors still maintain any interest in Ball. It made some sense in the offseason because Immanuel Quickley was coming off a down year in which injuries limited him to just 33 games.

Since Quickley has been healthy so far this season, his performance has rebounded with 16.5 points on 47.1 percent shooting and a career-high 6.1 assists per game in 26 starts.

The Raptors have been a pleasant surprise with a 16-11 record, third in the Eastern Conference.

There is no indication the Hornets even entertained Toronto's call. In fact, Scotto noted Charlotte would prefer to see what its core of Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Kon Knueppel can do when they are healthy before making any big decisions.

The problem is they have rarely been healthy long enough to get on the court at the same time. The Ball-Miler-Bridges-Knueppel quartet has played together for a total of 66 minutes in six games.

It has been the second-most effective four-man lineup for the Hornets among those with at least 60 minutes of playing time with a plus-8.1 net rating. The only one that is better features Ball, Bridges, Knueppel and Moussa Diabaté (plus-13.0 in 93 minutes).

Ball's health has been a frequent problem throughout his career. The 24-year-old has only played in 247 out of a possible 424 games entering Thursday. He has only played more than 51 games in a season once, his lone All-Star year in 2021-22 (75 games).

There may come a point when the Hornets decide it's time to move on from Ball, but his age and impact on their offense when healthy does give them time to make that decision.