Rillaboom2701 | Hornets

1299 | 4 hours ago

we traded for naz reid and a current middle schooler

aceofspadez138 | Slovenia

368 | 3 hours ago

Focus on the positives. There’s a good chance that middle schooler is already more mature than LaMelo.

heydigme

42 | 2 hours ago

I love LaMelo. But, this is about money + culture. They obviously moving in a different direction. KK is their aim. I like this for both sides. Short term for Timberwolves. Long-term for Hornets. They getting serious.

VikingsLad | Timberwolves

16 | an hour ago

What’s Kon’s middle name?

heydigme

17 | an hour ago

Luckily it’s not Kevin

HandyDandyNotebook98 | Warriors

13 | 2 hours ago

And I’m quite sure he’s already a better driver than LaMelo

mauro_membrere | Kings

134 | 4 hours ago

Purple brothers unite, pelicans should change color scheme

Rillaboom2701 | Hornets

26 | 4 hours ago

what can we give you for acuff

mauro_membrere | Kings

20 | 4 hours ago

You’ll be fine, you should’ve gotten more, but i think you’ll get the better end of the deal down the line.
Source: a kings fan

Rillaboom2701 | Hornets

25 | 4 hours ago

we have kon as our centerpiece now and he thrived off of lamelo

shit is about to get bad

mauro_membrere | Kings

7 | 4 hours ago

Bad timing for a reset because of new tanking rules too. How bout brandon miller?

NOLASLAW | Pelicans

4 | 2 hours ago

We got the Mardi Gras purples some years

throwerofways | Hornets

28 | 3 hours ago

The Class of 2033 refers to students who are scheduled to graduate from high school in the spring of 2033, having entered kindergarten in the fall of 2020. These students are currently in elementary school (typically completing the 5th grade) and are navigating a modern, post-pandemic educational landscape.

Even worse, a 5th grader

mizznox | Jazz

7 | an hour ago

But we’re talking about a draft class, not a high school class. 2033 draft class will be guys who graduated high school in 2032 or earlier.

-XanderCrews- | Timberwolves

5 | 3 hours ago

Dude. I know you guys think you lost this trade but you didn’t. Naz plays every day. He isn’t flashy but does all the things he’s asked. He plays like a guy that earned it instead of being told he’s magical his whole life. He’s gonna be around a long time and I think charlotte is going to see they might have won this trade by the end of the year. Specifically if ball can’t stay on the court. Which he hasn’t shown he’s able to do.

doopdapdeedap | Lakers

1127 | 4 hours ago

That’s the way the Hornets operate

Nonsensical, but you gotta believe the hype, right

buzzcitybonehead | CHA

460 | 4 hours ago

It’s crazy how LaMelo is suddenly indisputably a steady, positive impact player within seconds of being traded from Charlotte.

The swaps weren’t weighed heavily into the deal. It was a “if they’ll include them and there’s a tiny chance, why not take em?” thing

RotaryRoad

200 | 4 hours ago

I mean, there’s a big difference between not thinking LaMelo is a bonafide superstar and trading him for three dubious swaps, a single first, and a guy who has never started.

_Apatosaurus_ | Thunder

152 | 3 hours ago

We’re like six months from everyone thinking Lamelo was a negative asset. I think teams just have a longer memory than r/NBA.

Between his unserious play, injuries, and off-court behavior, I think the Hornets were smart to sell while they could.

If/when he got hurt next season, this whole sub would be wondering how they can get off that contract.

aceofspadez138 | Slovenia

91 | 3 hours ago

We’re also like 24 hours removed from everyone thinking Naz Reid deserved to start and will take a statistical leap with Randle gone. Pretty reductionist to say he’s a dude that never started. At face value, sure. But we all know he’s better than a career sixth man.

Gamesgtd | Magic

3 | 2 hours ago

He was also really good in the playoffs

buzzcitybonehead | CHA

30 | 3 hours ago

I’ve seen this cycle many times over the past several years.

LaMelo is regaining form across a quarter of the season after a longterm injury and isn’t looking great. 2. LaMelo is healthy and running hot, everything is great and it’s finally happening. The detractors were wrong. 3. LaMelo has hit a slump from three and is still playmaking well but we’re losing because the offense stagnated and his scoring package is limited. 4. Back to #2 for a bit. 5. LaMelo is out for the season by January. This definitely would’ve been the year, but we’ll get a nice draft pick and try again next year.

The highest upvoted comments in every LaMelo thread have been about how he’s not a winning player since he was drafted. I disagree, but he hasn’t made the playoffs and put up huge stinkers in ³⁄₄ career play-in games when actual defense gets played, so I’m not sure why him being traded has turned him into a positive asset in the NBA discourse.

KiSamehada

13 | 3 hours ago

They just want to shit on the Hornets FO. I trust them and they’ve been making good decisions, seems like this might be one of them as well, we’ll see down the line.

flaming_burrito_ | Wizards

21 | 3 hours ago

Absolutely not, they will regret this unless they have another star lined up. LaMelo was the engine of their offense, the Hornets were downright mediocre when he was off the floor. Check his on/off numbers, they were nuts. He plays in an unorthodox way that makes people take him less serious, but if you actually pay attention, he’s a great player. The injury concerns are valid, but I just do not like this return at all

_Apatosaurus_ | Thunder

9 | 3 hours ago

Check his on/off numbers

Yes, they were impressive, but there were A LOT of off numbers…

He plays in an unorthodox way

Which is one of the reasons the on/off numbers are so stark. This happens a lot with unique star players. The team builds around their unique way of playing and then the team can’t sustain it when they are off the court.

That’s not a huge deal when the unique star is Jokic, because he’s insanely good and because he’s an iron man who can play 40+ minutes in the playoffs.

BomberManeuver

10 | 3 hours ago

The Hornets have a lot of assets so they can keep building. I’m a big Melo fan but I think it was fine to move off of him and a great pick up for the Wolves. Even if Ball had 2 more good seasons, it probably wouldn’t make the Hornet a contender. They would then be staring down a massive extension with his injury and character concerns.

Hornets are positioning themselves to take advantage of the new draft rules, so they could get a superstar in the next few years. Melo probably isn’t going to be this teams superstar and will be a good #2 on the Wolves.

Gamesgtd | Magic

6 | 2 hours ago

Did people just forget how we dog walked this great LaMelo led offense in the play in?

Pumpkinmatrix | Hornets

8 | 3 hours ago

We gave him 6th man minutes last year and we still held him out in several back to backs. Also the team has to be factoring in what (if anything) they saw from him on the preparation side of things in the offseason.

Melo can make some flashy plays and he is an excellent player when healthy, but I think you can replace his PG/distributor production pretty easily.

He definitely willed us to some wins last year, but he also chucked us directly into some losses.

I also don’t know how, as our front office, you could look at how teams like detroit physically manhandled us, how we looked against a physical orlando team in the play in, and the overall physicality of the playoffs and think Melo could survive a deep playoff run.

nigaraze | Warriors

3 | 2 hours ago

I had no idea he had 40% fg back to back seasons, thats just awful shot selection especially in 2026 where fg% has been rising from the generous calls

LeoFireGod | Mavericks

24 | 3 hours ago

Bonafide super star is 1st team all nba.

Lamelo is an all star. Not a super star.

Honestly there’s only like 6 super stars max at a time in the league.

Mickckx

15 | 3 hours ago

That’s what he’s saying. He might not be a superstar, but he is worth way more than the Hornets got.

Knickstape08 | NYK

3 | 3 hours ago

Hes not tho. He misses so many games and even this year which is his best year he wasn’t close to All NBA and wasn’t an all star. He hasn’t made an all star team in 4 years. And the only game he played in he was a replacement player. He’s like Zion, he’s either hurt or when he plays his game is restricted to stay healthy so his numbers aren’t all star worthy. If Zion got traded for a similar package no one would be saying he’s worth more.

Digitking003

4 | 3 hours ago

“bonafide superstar” is a reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal stretch lmao

JonTheCatMan11 | GSW

10 | 3 hours ago

Which he never specifically said. Reading comprehension is tough innit?

asonkidd

6 | 3 hours ago

Right. Dudes straight up cannot read lol

thatsinsaneletstryit | 76ers

131 | 4 hours ago

who said any of that? we’re just laughing cuz yall gave up an all star for a 6th man and a 10 year old

TheAracknight | Thunder

76 | 4 hours ago

Poor 10yr old doesn’t even know he just got traded to the Hornets

_AceHigh | Spurs

28 | 3 hours ago

Lamelo was lumped into talks with Trae and Ja as untradeable negative assets at the beginning of last season.

There’s a good chance they’re selling high here.

Ham_PhD | Nets

15 | 3 hours ago

Gotta get a high return for it to be a sell high.

_AceHigh | Spurs

8 | 3 hours ago

Or he goes back to spending half the season out with injuries and the other half playing Lamelo-ball and this is the highest his trade value will ever be.

Ham_PhD | Nets

11 | 3 hours ago

But it doesn’t feel like they actually got “peak trade value.”

It felt like the Hornets wanted to sell high but they just took the first offer they got.

recurnightmare

3 | 3 hours ago

You just have to sell higher than they’re worth.

Maybe fans perception of lamelo doesn’t match how teams see him.

The_MadStork | NYK

5 | 3 hours ago

I’m not judging the trade one way or another, but I feel like people are underappreciating Naz Reid.

Zimakov

3 | 3 hours ago

Them getting literally anything is selling high. He’s a net negative with his contract and issues.

WhoreyMatthews | Spurs

10 | 3 hours ago

He’s only played over 51 games twice in his career. Naz Reid is good, plays 2 positions and is durable.

There’s a chance LaMelo never has injury issues again and the Wolves look like geniuses and the Hornets like idiots.

But there’s also a chance Naz looks great in Charlotte and LaMelo has Embiid level bad health and the Wolves look like fools giving away a good player and picks for a guy who never plays due to injury.

You gotta take a risk to get anything

_Apatosaurus_ | Thunder

9 | 3 hours ago

Nobody remembers that because he was load managed into 72 games once.

AleroRatking | Vancouver Grizzlies

18 | 3 hours ago

Did you not watch your team the second half of last year.

The only issue with Lamelo is health.

buzzcitybonehead | CHA

8 | 3 hours ago

I did. LaMelo, Kon, and Miller had a sustained period of being among the 5 highest players in threes made. I watched every game. LaMelo is amazing when it’s “on” and is a player you have to overcompensate for when it’s not. You can win like that, but it means patching leaks and it’s not the only strategy to build a successful team.

Also, “the only issue is health” is being a little glossed over. We’ve had four “Well, LaMelo is out for the season by like January. Maybe we’ll finally end the playoff drought next year” seasons in the six he’s been here. He had to be on a season-long minutes restriction last year to not break down. It’s not like that’s just no longer a concern.

AleroRatking | Vancouver Grizzlies

12 | 3 hours ago

The alternative is not having him at all. Like 40 games of Lamelo is better than whatever this is

MojoToTheDojo | Hornets

3 | 3 hours ago

It’s crazy seeing these comments compared to January 1st

Competitive_Rent_675 | Timberwolves

2 | 3 hours ago

And the Wolves were one of the healthiest teams in the league throughout the regular season. Hopefully that means that we’ve got a great medical staff that can help manage Ball.

JA_MD_311 | Knicks

20 | 4 hours ago

Definitely recency bias. As a NBA fan, I saw this extremely fun, young team that was coming together. I guess Charlotte’s FO saw all of Lamelo’s flaws, got a quality player in Naz Reid and some draft capital.

rapidjingle | Toronto Huskies

18 | 4 hours ago

I’ve been on the train that Lamelo is a real positive player for a while. I’m calling it now. Without teams having to respect Ball’s offensive skill set, Kon is going to regress.

spacekiller69

4 | 4 hours ago

Miller and white exist.

rapidjingle | Toronto Huskies

7 | 4 hours ago

Defenses don’t have to respect them like they do Lamelo.

xbarracuda95

6 | 3 hours ago

They’re not playmakers like Lamelo

devinbookersuncle | Hornets

3 | 3 hours ago

It’s crazy how LaMelo is suddenly indisputably a steady, positive impact player within seconds of being traded from Charlotte.

This is what pisses me off the most.

Everyone shits on our players until we trade them then they’re heralded as amazing players.

As far as the swaps we basically traded a franchise PG and a bench player for another bench player essentially.

This is the worst trade in the last 40 years aside from the Luka trade

buzzcitybonehead | CHA

2 | 3 hours ago

If LaMelo was good enough for this to be the worst trade in 40 years, we would’ve made the playoffs in the weaker Eastern Conference at least once in the six seasons he was here.

I know the response to that will be he’s been injured and the rosters sucked, but a guy being injured for half a decade isn’t the excuse to not trade him some people think it is, and other stars would’ve been expected to at least sniff the playoffs in the East with some of those rosters

Purple-List1577 | Timberwolves

3 | 2 hours ago

Bro if he’s worth one future first and naz then fuck it.

He is non serious and injury prone but teams like min (and cha) should make moves to acquire young potential stars

YerrrKnicks | Knicks

11 | 4 hours ago

Nonsensical?

Melo was perfect for them then.

Watch them go for Ja now 😭

TokiVideogame

3 | 3 hours ago

that makes the most sense

-XanderCrews- | Timberwolves

3 | 3 hours ago

That’s the only reason I’m happy about this trade. Now I know we won’t go after ja.

nice_nik | Lakers

4 | 4 hours ago

believe in the Reid

JordanDoesTV | Hornets

6 | 3 hours ago

I’m done I need a new team I literally can’t handle this anymore legit

gho_stxs | Cavaliers

3 | 4 hours ago

The hope is what gets you

FreeoftheMachine | Timberwolves

404 | 4 hours ago

Looking at it now, its a decent trade for the Wolves. What are they really giving up? Naz and pick swaps for a major need? Might as well go all in.

Rudy_Gobert [OP] | Jazz

179 | 4 hours ago

And the 2033 first round pick outright.

jluc21 | Kings

56 | 4 hours ago

Which the kings own their 2031 pick outright. That’s why to me this is more of a gamble for the wolves. If LaMello can’t stay healthy they’re gonna be without picks for a while

FootballRacing38

79 | 3 hours ago

Once again, they still get to pick someone for their pick swaps

FuckThaLakers | Timberwolves

7 | 44 minutes ago

The way people talk about swaps as if it’s the same as losing a pick is infuriating. In most cases, the worst that’ll happen is you move down a few spots.

They’re valuable for sure, but it’s not even remotely the same as getting/giving up a pick.

Winnes0ta | Super 8

41 | 3 hours ago

They still have a first round pick every other year

Imaginary-Cycle-1977 | Spurs

4 | 3 hours ago

Bad ones though

RaisingQQ77preFlop | Timberwolves

9 | an hour ago

They’re going to be bad anyways, we’re not going to suddenly turn into a lottery team with Ant and Jaden on this team barring injury which is always a risk.

Ok_Friendship9310

3 | an hour ago

They weren’t trying to make them good

SPAGHETTI_CAKE | Russell Westbrook

8 | 3 hours ago

If they fail they’ll have ant to trade at least. I’m guessing he’s forced their hand a bit

indoninjah | 76ers

5 | 3 hours ago

Seems like this is the mentality with most teams these days. Find the star, go all in, and be ready to blow it up in a couple years if needed. It makes basketball sense but it’s not great for the half a million local kids wearing Ant jerseys right now.

Desperate-Hat-2510

3 | 3 hours ago

yeah that’s the benefit of having younger stars—even if it were to blow up in a few years, you can recoup assets pretty easily

pollinium | MIN

3 | 3 hours ago

I mean I feel like we’ve been without picks for three years but we keep doing stuff somehow

harder_said_hodor | Timberwolves

3 | 3 hours ago

If LaMello can’t stay healthy they’re gonna be without picks for a while

Probably more like if Lamelo can’t stay fit and the team starts to tank we are going to have to trade our assets and rebuilt.

This is the last major throw of the dice. Come 2031 we’ll likely either have won a title or have traded Ant and Jaden for a truckload of picks

qotsabama | DAL

62 | 4 hours ago

What they’re giving up is essentially their last assets. They’re fully all in now, there’s no way to upgrade the team anymore around Ant unless they trade McDaniels. Do you think this core can win a title?

FreeoftheMachine | Timberwolves

65 | 4 hours ago

Not much of an option imo. We cant keep waiting around for a PG to finally develop into something. If this is our all in move, I’m at peace with it. I dont really see any other option because we dont have anything of value to trade aside from Naz and Randle was so trash, we had to trade out of the 1st to get rid of him.

qotsabama | DAL

15 | 3 hours ago

I agree a trade for a PG was needed. Just not sure Ball is the right guy. Guess we will see.

Salty_Minnesota | Timberwolves

21 | 3 hours ago

What other right guy is out there at PG? Trae? Kyrie?

I think this was the best option at the close to best time to get him. Our “core” is now all approaching their prime at the same time and under contract for the next 3-5 years.

qotsabama | DAL

5 | 3 hours ago

That is a nice thing at least the core is all close to each other in age to grow together. But for that group of 3 to truly contend it’ll require McDaniels and Ball getting a lot better, especially given depth is probably forever going to be an issue now. These 3 and their future contracts will take up most of the cap.

smalls_1804 | Knicks

8 | 3 hours ago

Ant is still only 24 and getting better. But the problem is they lost all of their depth and basically their entire front court save Gobert who turns 34 tomorrow (joyeux anniversaire!) and will now have to shoulder a much bigger load at the 5. I get that Lamelo fits their timeline for basically everyone else on the roster, and I’m sure they’re penciling in a DDV return in ²⁰²⁷⁄₂₀₂₈, but it just feels like they don’t have quite enough

StarFox-6 | Timberwolves

12 | 3 hours ago

Randle and Naz are ass on defense so if we move Jaden to the 4 and start Ayo at the 3 Rudy will be fine

beatnickk | Mavericks

7 | 3 hours ago

Ayo is 6’4. Definitely going to be light on the wing, and Jaden is undersized at the 4 too

smalls_1804 | Knicks

3 | 3 hours ago

Rudy was still dominant defensively last year, even if his counting stats took a big dip, and he played 76 games. He’s just defying the odds as a big playing this well this late in his career and going from 2 really good centers to idk who is his backup is not going to help his longevity

matgopack | 76ers

6 | 3 hours ago

Their last assets, but those weren’t necessarily worth much - I doubt they could get anything better than Lamelo with them, so going ‘all in’ again makes sense for them.

secretlypooping | 76ers

3 | 3 hours ago

I mean, it wouldn’t exactly shock me if they did but definitely need the stars to align where everyone stays healthy, Beringer is a serviceable backup, McDaniels takes another step forward, Evans becomes a neutral+ rotation player with great shooting, Ayo is re-signed and keeps up his play, Ant enters the MVP conversation. Maybe flip donte’s expiring for someone that can eat up regular season minutes.

It’s a long shot, but I wouldn’t write it off entirely

beastieboyles | Timberwolves

11 | 4 hours ago

It’s really Naz and the 2033 unprotected first that are the gold in the trade.

Assuming we can find a rotation big (move DDV?) this is a homerun trade for the Wolves (and could work out really well for the Hornets, you never know what 2033 might look like).

FreeoftheMachine | Timberwolves

5 | 4 hours ago

As long as it isn’t some Kawhi level trade of assets, Im pretty happy with this.

TheGuyInTheKnown | Timberwolves

8 | 4 hours ago

It’s betting on us being able to fill the forward minutes with guys currently on the roster. Only one of our top 3 forwards in minutes is still on the team, Randle and Naz are now gone. I bet we’re going to see an unusual amount of rookie minutes for a Finch team this season.

whatssenguntoagoblin | Alperen Sengun

3 | 3 hours ago

Bro you should be ecstatic this is much more than a decent trade

gigglios

353 | 4 hours ago

Yea the trade is absolute dogshit lol. If has to be healthy concerns or lamelo ran someone over or just stupidity/rigged shit lmfao. Regardless though you couldve gotten more

abippityboop | Knicks

151 | 4 hours ago

They really have to know something about Ball that we don’t, because this trade makes no sense otherwise.

Those swaps are not very valuable, it’s very possible none of them ever convey. The only sure thing assets are Naz Reid and a future first. I’m not even the biggest Ball fan in the world but that seems like a very light return.

Kdcjg | West

86 | 3 hours ago

Hornets have watched him play for 6 years. They prob know more about his faults than anyone.

Apeturetester | Registered to Vote

32 | 3 hours ago

LaMelo is for sure a very flawed player. He was also, by far, the biggest driving force in the Hornets incredible offense last year and they don’t have anyone that can replace his specific skillset. Miller and Kon are really great players, but neither have proven they can run an NBA offense competently, let alone at the level LaMelo has proven he can reach consistently. Unless Miller has more on-ball juice than a lot of people realize I don’t see how this doesn’t make them a worse team than they were last year while the assets they got don’t make that step-back worthwhile

Xc_runner_xd_player

6 | 2 hours ago

Bro what are you all on. What do you mean the “level Lamelo can reach consistently”. He’s made the all star team 1 time. They’ve never made the playoffs. They been blown out in every play in game they’ve played.

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills here. He is 24 years old and has played 52+ games 2 times, one being this year when they HAD TO PUT HIM ON A MINUTES RESTRICTION (AT 24 YEARS OLD).

What has he proven. I think the hornets should have tried to get more, but the dude is an injury prone, immature, low efficiency, weak defensive shot chucker.

Justices

4 | an hour ago

I’m not going to argue with you about Lamelo’s style of play, I’ll agree to disagree.

Whether you like Lamelo’s play or not doesn’t cou ter anything the person you’re responding to said.

Lamelo was the engine that made the Hornets team hum. His advanced stats could be better but Charlotte had major problems functioning when he wasn’t on the floor. Most importantly, they dont have a clear replacement for Lamelo in any real way. Unless Miller and Kon both take huge play making leaps, the offense will be constantly bogged down like it was w/o Lamelo.

If Lamelo remains even moderately healthy this will look like a terrible trade. With his history, thats still a big IF. Regardless of whether he is or not, I can’t imagine the Hornets being as good or better this year than last without another major move.

Ice2jc

11 | 3 hours ago

We know plenty about Ball. The dude engages in self sabotaging behavior every day. You can tell a lot about how a person operates their daily life by the way they drive a car tbh. Thats why I don’t even get mad at people with road rage or who act crazy on the road. I know that level of impulsiveness affects their daily life as well.

Character_Bug_1862

3 | 3 hours ago

You can tell a lot about how a person operates their daily life by the way they drive a car tbh.

Woah woah easy on the personal shots now I’m tryin to work here!

strangethanparadise

41 | 4 hours ago

lamelo is always injured, crazy inefficient when he does play, and has a reputation as a losing player this was pretty much his value

scarletmonkey111

47 | 4 hours ago

Charlotte’s offensive rating was at a historically high level this season and Kon’s shooting skyrockets with Melo on the court.

He’s just never had a good roster around him. The one year he finally had everyone healthy with good teammates, he almost made the playoffs.

If they played in the West or were good last year, they most certainly would’ve made the playoffs.

cossack190 | Celtics

14 | 3 hours ago

Gassing a guy for “almost making the playoffs”

JessieGemstone999 | Hornets

14 | 3 hours ago

When he and miller were injured at the start of the season they got off to a really slow start.

They were legit one of the best teams in the leauges when everyone was healthy including smashing the Celtics.

Yall dont watch hornets games and it’s painfully obvious with all the dumb ass takes like this in here

scarletmonkey111

5 | 3 hours ago

Yea, it’s so frustrating and I’m not even a Hornets’ fan.

People talking about some “He doesn’t play winning basketball 🤓”

asher1611 | Charlotte Bobcats

12 | 3 hours ago

I mean, this is the Hornets we’re talking about.

How low has the bar been for the team?

scarletmonkey111

10 | 3 hours ago

Main point was that the Hornets were on an upwards trajectory. Any other year in the East, they make that playoffs. They were expected to win 28 games this year and massively overperfomed.

TheBigF128 | United States

6 | 3 hours ago

He’s been stuck with some abysmal rosters the past few years, charlottes offense was top 5 in offensive rating this year, and lamelo was definitely the main facilitator of this

justwriteforme | Warriors

14 | 4 hours ago

Yea especially with how fast this developed, I wonder if something happened with Melo.

Starveiled | Hornets

31 | 4 hours ago

Its probably been in the works for a while. The Hornets FO is really tight lipped.

not-a-potato-head | Hawks

5 | 3 hours ago

Yeah, weren’t there trade rumors during the season before y’all turned things around? Makes sense that the FO might feel the same about the player and were looking to sell high

SloshaPacana

210 | 4 hours ago

The way people are acting like injury prone Lamelo who has never made playoffs and is on a max has some insane value is hilarious

If there were better offers after he was made available they would have taken them this is not a Nico situation

His value sucks and i rate Lamelo he is an amazing offensive engine but just too inconsistent and injury prone with off court issues too

orwll

59 | 4 hours ago

Also Charlotte is the team with the most knowledge about his medical history and the team that has seen how he conducts himself around the locker room and team facilities. Buyer beware.

SloshaPacana

16 | 4 hours ago

You don’t need all that it’s public knowledge he’s never been a healthy player

Constant ankle injuries are a big red flag for a guard of his size and style of play

orwll

7 | 3 hours ago

Its true all I’m saying is that in addition to what’s known publicly, Charlotte has seen how he rehabs, what his training habits are, etc.

Like, if they thought Lamelo was just unlucky and saw him fighting hard to get on the court after his injuries, they’d probably see his value as higher than the public perception. But clearly that wasn’t the case.

VaultDweller_09

16 | 3 hours ago

He only missed 10 games last season

seventeenweewees | Timberwolves

20 | 3 hours ago

AD has a healthy season every 5 years too

WakiLover | Lakers

5 | 3 hours ago

How about before last season?

tristvn

10 | 3 hours ago

they didn’t have to trade him

BlackPhillipsbff | Hornets

3 | 2 hours ago

I think that’s the thing that’s been true for years. It’s made sense to trade Melo for awhile but only for a haul of some kind and the league disagrees he’s worth one.

So why tf did we do it now after the best Hornets season in a decade?

CarmeloDramatic

4 | 4 hours ago

You should see how people talk about Trey Murphy

Somerandomguy20711 | Thunder

145 | 4 hours ago

Trading for picks in the future sounds alot better until you realize that both of the Wolves stars are 24 years old

WakiLover | Lakers

73 | 3 hours ago

NBA moves fast

2 years of play ins or missing the playoffs and now an entering his prime Ant is frustrated and asks out, who knows anymore

whatssenguntoagoblin | Alperen Sengun

20 | 3 hours ago

I mean sure but there’s no evidence to say the Wolves are gonna miss the playoffs when they’ve made the playoffs 5 years in a row and Ant is about to enter his prime.

Big_Saens

4 | an hour ago

Someone has to move to the eastern Conference if LV and Seattle enter the mix, and Wolves are the top of list to move East, so it might be even easier to stay in the playoffs

Somerandomguy20711 | Thunder

14 | 3 hours ago

If they don’t miss the playoffs with Julius Randle as #2, they’re at least a consistent 3 or 4 seed with Lamelo Ball

Xc_runner_xd_player

9 | 2 hours ago

One time all star, never made the playoffs, tons of injury concerns and off the court issue, Lamelo ball? That guy?

Somerandomguy20711 | Thunder

5 | 2 hours ago

Yeah that guy, consistent ²⁰⁄₈ player, the only reason the Hornets had and will ever have to excuse their continued existence in a professional sports league as opposed to just being contracted for all eternity.

That guy

Xc_runner_xd_player

3 | 2 hours ago

Consistent ²⁰⁄₈ player who averages 50 games a season at age 24. Oh no! Whatever will they do not making the playoffs after Lamelo has failed to get them to the playoffs one time. How will they function without their 40% Fg, 36% 3pt, star.

I feel bad for hornets fans because I think they should have held out for more, and for a terrible franchise he is at least a very entertaining player, but Lamelo is not a winning basketball player.

Somerandomguy20711 | Thunder

5 | 2 hours ago

Besides the Wolves don’t need him to carry the team, they have a superstar to do that already. If Julius Randle can help them get to the West Finals Lamelo can do the same thing extremely easily

Xc_runner_xd_player

3 | 2 hours ago

Yeah I mean I think it’s good for the wolves (probably). They have the defense to cover for Lamelo and he can have his minutes restriction because Ant and the rest of the team can probably get to the playoffs with Ball playing 50 games. Still don’t think Lamelo somehow gets them past the spurs or OKC

Somerandomguy20711 | Thunder

3 | 2 hours ago

The same thing they’ll always do, something stupid

whatssenguntoagoblin | Alperen Sengun

8 | 3 hours ago

And Jaden is 25. They’re not missing the playoffs the next half decade at minimum this is a disastrous trade for Charlotte.

CurrentCostanza | Trail Blazers

3 | an hour ago

Calling Lamelo Ball a “star” also makes it sound better.

SugarFreeCummiBears

112 | 4 hours ago

All of the swaps suck

gho_stxs | Cavaliers

7 | 4 hours ago

Pretty much

Normal-Sort-9463

7 | 3 hours ago

This.

The only way the 2028 one *maybe* has value is if Minnesota gets 2 lottery balls in that lottery and that’s not going to happen unless Ant and Lamelo’s legs fall off.

None of these are conveying.

sewsgup

5 | 3 hours ago

and some context for 2028 is that draft people are calling the next 2 drafts (27, 28) “pretty shitty” (Givony’s words)

hmmmmmmm94 | Hornets

88 | 4 hours ago

Maybe LaMelo is beyond cooked physically and mentally. Is it possible we sold high while we had the chance?

LegitimateMoney00 | Knicks

76 | 4 hours ago

I think the Hornets were smart to trade him now. He still has a lot of maturity and health issues. A year ago they would have needed to attach draft capital to trade him and now they are actually receiving draft capital back. Kon is your guy now and you get to pair him with a floor spacing big man.

ktpkchu | Mavericks

31 | 3 hours ago

i feel like people saying this just don’t watch games, kon is not going to be your lead ball handler like that and was greatly assisted by lamelo’s gravity/playmaking, pretty much all analytics supports that too

like coby white is their lead guard now lmao

TheWyldMan | Pelicans

10 | 2 hours ago

i feel like people saying this just don’t watch game

TBF over the last 4 years Lamelo has averaged less that 45 games a season. You could watch close to half of all hornets games in that time frame and barely see him play

ktpkchu | Mavericks

3 | 2 hours ago

that’s fair lol, but in his healthiest season of his career (with a new medical staff notably) he was by all metrics one of the most impactful players in the nba

walter_____pinkman | Celtics

8 | 3 hours ago

As great as Kon is already he’ll still be a sophomore and very much an off-ball player (someone correct me if I’m wrong) and Miller similarly can’t replace LaMelo’s facilitation, so will Coby White have to run the offense? They really don’t have “their guy” after this trade.

MrLeftwardSloping | Bulls

10 | 4 hours ago

The problem is that it wasnt high at all

liver_in_atlanter | Hawks

6 | 4 hours ago

I think it’s possible, Trae got dumped for free same for Stewart on the pistons both good-solid players.

whatssenguntoagoblin | Alperen Sengun

7 | 3 hours ago

“Sold high”

Yall don’t really know what that word means

Jaerba | DET

1 | 4 hours ago

I think the timing of trading him makes sense. It’s just disappointing if this is the high return.

Signal_Ball4634

3 | 4 hours ago

IDK about the mental but yeah his health is something I’m wary about. More worth it for the Wolves who want to capitalize right now with all the investment they already made to build a contender around Ant.

Independent_Lemon365

3 | 3 hours ago

If this is “selling high” I’d like to know what the return would be if they sold low

Rakatok | Bulls

45 | 4 hours ago

GMs throw in swaps because it’s good PR for morons.

GinghamOrangutan

26 | 4 hours ago

Swaps are much more valuable under the new lottery rules.

BattleFresh003 | Hornets

7 | 3 hours ago

I didn’t think about this aspect of the trade and this is definitely not me coping.

Sufficient-Lunch-651

3 | 3 hours ago

These swaps are already part of other swap deals though and will very likely not convey. So they effectively traded LaMelo for one first rounder and a sixth man. That’s shit no matter how you look at it.

spidersilva09 | NBA

20 | 4 hours ago

Yeah some of those are pretty much fake picks. Hornets opened up a massive trade exception and saved some serious money with this trade. A valuable factor not many seem to be discussing

jalexjsmithj | Hornets

56 | 4 hours ago

So excited for Cap Space to lead us to the playoffs. I’m gonna buy a jersey.

gearboxer4

13 | 4 hours ago

Cap Space and LaMelo have lead the Hornets to the same number of playoff appearances

d7h7n | Mavericks

3 | 4 hours ago

Sumter, SC is only like 2 hours from Charlotte, NC.

stankyouvrymuch | Hornets

15 | 4 hours ago

I fucking hate my club

Sko_Neezy

14 | 4 hours ago

Simply because LaMelo has terrible trade value due to the fact that he’s an absolute weirdo who could get caught up in the most insane scenario possible at any moment

Ok-Door-3664 | Hornets

11 | 4 hours ago

Might be cope, but I feel there’s more to come here

stankyouvrymuch | Hornets

6 | 4 hours ago

Same and same

Beetle919 | Hornets

12 | 4 hours ago

We are the Bobcats, tired of seeing cope from some of these fans. “In Jeff we trust”, lamest shit ever seeing fanbases type this shit out.

GGezpzMuppy | Spurs

10 | 4 hours ago

Can’t see how those pick swaps were even a consideration lol.

oklolzzzzs

10 | 4 hours ago

minnesota got a steal for lamelo

XxEpicMonkee | Lakers

13 | 4 hours ago

honestly i think both teams lost in this trade lmao

BasketballStephCurry | Hornets

11 | 4 hours ago

yeah just fuck my whole shit up man what the fuck ever jeff peterson stupid fuck

Real_Bee_7600

4 | 3 hours ago

$6 tickets are back on the menu

PepsiCo_USA | Knicks

9 | 4 hours ago

That’s LaMelo’s value.

SandwitchJ | Celtics

6 | 4 hours ago

Dogshit for the hornets

Deep_Explanation9962 | Nuggets

7 | 4 hours ago

LaMelo is not a winning ball player. If that’s his price, I think Charlotte made a good move getting him off the team

idkidk23 | Mavericks

15 | 4 hours ago

Lamelo is absolutely a winning player. One of the best offensive engines in the league. You can be concerned about the injuries, but imo the eye test supports him being an elite offensive engine and analytics love him too. He’s a great PG who makes everyone on the team much better.

e1ij4h | Lakers

8 | 4 hours ago

He’s not a winning player cause he was on Charlotte lol. Melo is a 6’7 Trae Young. Pair that with a legit 2-way superstar and a 4x DPOY anchor and Jaden McDaniels they are a problem

BackhandQ | Raptors

5 | 4 hours ago

That 2033 unprotected pick will be very good for the Hornets.

carmiachafsu | Hornets

6 | 3 hours ago

hope he has a good day in middle school today. fuck me

BBALL-STATLINE

5 | 4 hours ago

Charlotte got swap-shaped assets. Sounds like one real swap and two terms-and-conditions updates.

Mich3006 | Trail Blazers

6 | 4 hours ago

I still think that trade doesn’t makes too much sense for both teams at first sight.

I don’t like it for both.

SJCitizen | 76ers

4 | 3 hours ago

LaMelo went from an empty stats guy that at best can lead you to the play-in to r/nba’s favorite player and a superstar in under 24 hours

JA_MD_311 | Knicks

6 | 4 hours ago

Even if by some miracle the Hornets are in a position to swap, you’re probably swapping from like the 25thish pick to like the 18th.

Plus_Baseball

4 | 3 hours ago

As a Hornets fan, I see why we traded him and I don’t disagree with it. Lamelo has never been healthy with us. When he was, he was great, but just not great enough to put us over the top. I recall the last play-in game against the Hawks in 2022 and we got blown out. And even in the Magic game this past playoffs, blown out. We were paying Lamelo top money and being blown out in the grandest of stages, showed he was not worth the top money for our Franchise at this point. Lamelo’s talent and upside is off the charts BUT his intangibles are not (off court antics and leadership). Maybe Ant will be able to get him to live up to his potential but as a Hornets fan - this was the right move.

False_Confusion_6261

3 | 4 hours ago

Comparing Ant to Jordan is wild enough, but calling LaMelo this generation’s Rodman might somehow be even crazier.

thy_armageddon | Knicks

3 | 4 hours ago

It would be crass and ignorant to say that a professional basketball front-office got bamboozled into the idea that swaps are basically picks, but I think the Hornets got bamboozled into the idea that swaps are basically picks.

Rlccm | Pistons

3 | 4 hours ago

I don’t mind seeing Kon with the ball in his hands more but it’s wild they only got Naz back plus a 1st that won’t convey until after Charlotte has a new GM

PeanutFarmer69 | Nets

3 | 4 hours ago

The hornets have been trying to trade Lamelo for a while, the wolves are desperate now that Ant is disgruntled and are the only team willing to give up value for Lamelo, r/nba is massively overrating Lamelo right now. Again, charlotte couldn’t give him away for a while.

Salty_Helicopter9356 | Nuggets

3 | 4 hours ago

LaMelo really doesn’t have a lot of value. Health concerns are very real, he’s already expensive and Charlotte saw an opportunity to get out while they could.

Both teams here are taking a risk

jm0127 | Knicks

4 | 4 hours ago

and this was still likely a sell high scenario. you cant blame the hornets for pulling the trigger on this.

KazaamFan

3 | 4 hours ago

The salary factor seems to be a big factor not many are mentioning. I guess the hornets want to build around Kon and Co, and lamelo isnt the guy, which i can see. Yea he’s fun, but they need a consistent and sound leader.

gearboxer4

3 | 4 hours ago

Our new ownership group + GM have only made good decisions that have made this team better since they took over so I will reserve judgement to a later date and choose to trust them in the moment.

Broke_Banker01 | Bucks

3 | 4 hours ago

Trade comes down to Ball’s health.

do you get the version that’s been healthy for ²⁄₆ seasons? MIN wins.

or do you get the injury prone version? CHA wins.

Ok-Tree4365

3 | 3 hours ago

Lamelo still makes dumb, non-winning moves in clutch situations. Like All Star Game “watch me cook” casual dribbles at halfcourt with a 3-pt lead, and 1:45 left. And while he’s capable of playing pretty good one on one defense, that’s the exception, and he gets caught ball watching.

He may fit very well in Minnesota if he can stay on the court? Who knows?

Also - doesn’t the new draft system change the outlook on some of these swaps from what we’re used to in the past?

Dog-Witch | Knicks

3 | 3 hours ago

Charlotte FO really went “fuck it”

Hornets had a nice little run there and I was waiting to see how far they’d go next year.

RyMc47 | 76ers

3 | 3 hours ago

NBA pick swaps and protection are wack

CanILickThat

3 | 3 hours ago

They won the lottery and used all the money to buy lottery tickets

That’s the logic at play here

ElDudeIV

3 | 2 hours ago

Look the truth of this trade is this. Charlotte didn’t have faith Ball could stay healthy and didn’t contribute to winning long term for his upcoming price tag. Remember he is extension eligible 2 years and around 117 million. In the new apron era, these decisions are huge. It fucks up your cap sheet and roster options for years. They are basically saying the flexibility financially with White, who they most likely resign, and Reid impacts winning long term over locking Ball up forever. Fans need to stop thinking the NBA, especially under the new CBA, is 2K or a fantasy league. The picks are a secondary driver. They basically got 1 1st and 3 2nds. I salute Charlotte. They are smarter than the Wizards who messed up by giving Trae a max for 5 years. All the positive will they had coming with the lottery and this losing. The front office screwed it up.

MrLeftwardSloping | Bulls

2 | 4 hours ago

Yeah this was a useless, dogshit trade. Bulls should have traded for him

profgarlicksauce | Celtics

2 | 4 hours ago

Ask the Pacers about how an unlikely top-5 swap can work out

bubbles2255 | Kings

2 | 4 hours ago

Biggest winner of the trade is Sacramento. That 2031 unprotected Wolves pick keeps looking better and better.

Losreyes-of-Lost

2 | 4 hours ago

Hornets getting out from under Ball. Good for them. The TWolves, gotta do something to make the needle move, more area from Ant to get to the basket

Two of the three pick swaps in the LaMelo-deal are basically worthless