Charlotte Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball is averaging 21.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game. (Mandatory Credit: Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
At least once every calendar year, a disgruntled star across the NBA arises. We were all too familiar with it with Jimmy Butler last year.
On Thursday, Yahoo Sports’ Kelly Iko reported that Hornets star guard is open to be traded after another poor start in Charlotte. Ball immediately squashed those rumors publicly, but that wasn’t stopping from many from firing up the trade machine.
According to Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey, one team that should be looking to acquire him is the Miami Heat.
“No, NBA media outlets are not contractually obligated to mention the Miami Heat every time a star potentially becomes available,” Bailey wrote. “They just come up often because the organization has so often gone star-hunting. And in this case, the star would fit pretty well.
“They have one of the league’s best bigs in Bam Adebayo. And while pairing him with Tyler Herro theoretically gives Miami a strong inside-out duo, the Heat have typically been worse with Herro on the floor in the playoffs. Whether Herro would be in the deal or not, adding Ball to lineups with Adebayo would give the big man a playmaker who thinks pass more often (even if Ball isn’t a traditional pass-first 1).”
Why Heat should not target LaMelo Ball:
Even after Ball’s comments, Charlotte is reportedly still willing to listen, even if they’re not rushed to trade him.
However, the Miami Heat should not be one having interest.
While this isn’t my biggest reason, the Terry Rozier situation still looms. Until there’s resolution, Miami should not in any way, shape or form look to acquire any Hornets player — especially after it was hosed by the league. We aren’t privy to the conversations behind closed doors, but one could assume those two sides aren’t on the best terms after Charlotte didn’t warn Miami prior to the trade.
On the court, Ball, 24, hasn’t proven himself to be a winning player.
He’s incredibly talented. Ball is a terrific facilitator — one of the best in the NBA. Head coach Charles Lee has done a great job maximizing space around him, too. Ball takes care of the ball more than he used to, and he’s also a very good rebounding guard.
But what the lanky guard has as a facilitator, he lacks between the ears.
Ball is still a very shaky decision-maker — especially with his shot selection — and is a poor defender despite racking up good steal numbers. He isn’t physical nor does he move well enough laterally. Ball routinely gets snake bit on screens without the multiple efforts despite having good positional size.
The former No. 3 overall pick has never shot above 44 percent from the floor from his career. Not to mention, his 3-point percentage has decreased each of the last five seasons. We’re still very early into the 2025-26 season, but he’s shooting just 38.5 percent and 29.8 percent from deep with his lowest usage since 2022-23.
Ball’s contract with his lack of availability also raises concern. He is in the second year of a five-year, $204 million extension. Beyond this year, he will have $40.8M, $43.6M and $46.4 million on the books. That equates to 24.6, 25.0 and 25.4 percent of the cap, respectively, according to Spotrac.
That’s a significant chunk for a player who’s played just 43.6 percent of available games since his second year.
While Ball would accentuate the Heat offense, I think it would be in the Heat’s best interest, hypothetically, to steer away. We know their ears perk up when a star becomes available, but this isn’t the one they should target.
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