New LaMelo Ball Trade Rumors as Hornets Discuss Dealing Star, 3 Potential Landing Spots Revealed

With the NBA draft in the books, the Charlotte Hornets reportedly are shopping their star point guard.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported after the draft that the Hornets are taking calls for LaMelo Ball, noting that Charlotte has multiple teams interested.

NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors are the two biggest suitors to start the sweepstakes, while the Milwaukee Bucks also have "registered interest."

Fischer noted that Ball "has been looking forward to this upcoming Hornets season to build off of Charlotte's momentum" from the previous season, but now it appears he could be on the move.

Ball is coming off a solid season in which he put up 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game. Perhaps the best stat from the 2025-26 campaign for Ball is the 72 games he played, the most of his career so far.

Behind strong play from Ball, Brandon Miller and rookie sensation Kon Knueppel, the Hornets finished 44-38, their best record in 10 years, but it wasn't quite enough to make the playoffs as they lost in the play-in tournament.

Charlotte certainly isn't going to hit the reset button now, so if it trades Ball, it will need to get a player or two that can make an impact immediately.

The Timberwolves have been eyeing some backcourt help for Anthony Edwards this offseason, and they just created some cap space by trading Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets. Minnesota was in the race for Giannis Antetokounmpo before he was traded to the Miami Heat, but now it can look into some backup options.

The Raptors appear to be a move or two away from being a contender, reaching the playoffs and taking the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games. While Immanuel Quickly had a solid season last year, adding Ball to the mix with Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram would be an immediate upgrade.

The offseason is still very young, so other teams could emerge in the race for Ball, but for now, it seems the Timberwolves and Raptors are the teams to watch.