The Hornets have become “disillusioned” with their star player, who has “grown increasingly frustrated” with the team and is open to a trade, Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports reported on Friday.
Ball, 24, joined the Hornets as the third-overall pick in the 2020 draft and with plenty of fanfare in part due to his father, Lavar.
And LaMelo brought his patented flair to Charlotte, launching deep three-pointers and making audacious passes en route to being named a 2022 all-star.
From an individual standpoint, his style mostly worked — Ball is averaging 21.6 points and 9.6 assists per game this season, in line with his career rates of 21.1 points and 7.5 assists.
However, the Hornets have not found any team success in the Ball era, missing the playoffs every season since 2016.
Ball, of Anaheim, Calif., is in the second of a five-year deal worth over $203 million that is projected to account for about 25 per cent of the salary cap in each of the next three seasons.
The 4-11 Hornets are riding a four-game losing streak and sit 12th in the Eastern Conference entering action on Friday.