Does LaMelo Ball want out of Charlotte? Hornets' star addresses trade rumors.

Roderick Boone, The Charlotte Observer on Nov 21, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LaMelo Ball extinguished the flames on the latest rumor surrounding his future with the Charlotte Hornets.

Speaking after Friday’s practice in preparation for Saturday’s matinee against the LA Clippers, the star point guard reiterated he doesn’t want to leave Charlotte and remains committed to helping turn things around for the franchise with the NBA’s longest postseason drought. Ball dismissed a Yahoo report that emerged Thursday indicating Ball is unhappy with the Hornets and open to being traded elsewhere.

“It didn’t come from me,” Ball said. “The source wasn’t me, so it’s false info. Got to let them know. I really don’t like commenting on stuff, but it got too big.”

He added: “I love being here.”

Ball, as he mentioned, typically doesn’t give those kinds of stories a second thought. But this time, he decided to go a different route.

Why?

“It was (spreading) so much, they were making headlines,” Ball said. “Bleacher Report and this and that. So I didn’t want it to keep going on.”

What Lee said about Ball

Those words were music to the ears of the Hornets’ second-year coach.

“I’m glad to hear what he had to say because I would echo a lot of same things,” Charles Lee said. “Our relationship, our ability to have communication between myself, Melo and Jeff (Peterson, the team’s president of basketball operations), it’s really hot. And I think that he’s always communicated to us.

“He wants to build this thing with us. He understands what it’s going to take to try to win and who we need in the building and stuff. So I think that he is just committed to Charlotte. He’s talked about how much he loves the city and the fans and that’s all I ever hear and that’s all.”

The Hornets with and without Ball

The Hornets (4-11) are struggling, having dropped three straight games and 10 of their last 12 outings following a promising start that invigorated a weary fan base. And Ball had to deal with more injury woes over the last few weeks after missing five straight games nursing a right ankle impingement.

Ball is averaging 21.6 points per game and also collecting 9.6 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game. Without him, the Hornets just aren’t the same.

This season was supposed to be different for Ball, who hasn’t played in more than 47 games since the 2021-22 campaign — his second year in the league when he was named an All-Star reserve.

The effect of Ball’s injuries

In order to alleviate some of the ankle issues he’d been experiencing over the past few seasons, the Hornets’ star guard had arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle in April along with a separate procedure on his right wrist. The surgery addressed the impingement, the team said at that time, but Ball was affected enough by it to be sidelined for six games and the Hornets intend on monitoring his minutes to ensure he’s available as much as possible.

He hasn’t topped 30 minutes since his return to the lineup and through the season’s initial month, there have been occasions when Lee hasn’t gone with him completely in crunch time, utilizing various lineups trying to close out games.

Lately it’s partially a byproduct of the amount of on-court time he’s allowed to log.

“Probably just the minutes restriction is the toughest (thing),” Ball said. “But I’m getting used to it. … It’s a little different, but each game I’m getting the hang of it, so I should be straight.”

Lee is empathetic.

“Yeah, it’s tough for him because he’s a competitor and he wants to be out there and he wants to help impact winning,” Lee said. “It’s tough for me because I want him on the floor. But I do think ultimately this is going to put him in his best position to be available for more games.

“We’ve just seen as his minutes increase and the load increases game after game after game, it starts to take a toll and it takes a toll on everyone in the NBA. So, we just want to be smart about how we’re managing him and his loads and his body. And I think he’s responded really well. And I think when you hold up a certain while, we’ll re-evaluate where we go from there.”

So, don’t expect to see Ball in another team’s uniform any time soon.

“We are in some downs right now, but we are definitely going to go up,” Ball said. “I’m still confident in this whole group and everybody here.”