Does a LaMelo Ball-Trae Young trade makes sense for Hornets, Hawks?

Even if you’re rooting for the Charlotte Hornets to hold onto LaMelo Ball (like the author of this piece is), it’s only natural to wonder — given his name always popping up in trade rumors — what sorts of Melo deals would make sense for Charlotte. There are also plenty of fans of other teams who would welcome a player as exciting as LaMelo to their squad with open arms.

Here’s an interesting LaMelo trade idea for Hornets and Atlanta Hawks fans to argue about: a straight-up swap of Melo for Trae Young.

Could a LaMelo Ball-Trae Young trade benefit everyone?

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball back on defense against Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Any NBA trade involves at least two factors: basketball fit and salary implications. Let’s get the money discussion underway first (although both factors are intertwined).

If the Hornets are interested in staying as financially flexible as possible amid their rebuild, they could create a ton of near-future cap space by swapping out Melo’s contract situation ($168.7 million over the next four seasons) for Trae’s deal ($46 million next season, followed by a $49 million player option in 2026-27).

Of course, the Hornets paid LaMelo for a reason in 2023 — they viewed him as a present and future franchise player. If that stance still holds in 2025 for Charlotte’s front office, it makes sense to retain LaMelo. But if the Hornets feel less confident about Melo these days and suspect that he can’t be a franchise pillar, trading him for a deal like Young's that expires far sooner makes sense.

On the Hawks’ end, they’d probably shy away from this deal if they are planning on moving on from Trae once his deal is up. On the other hand, the potential for Atlanta to swap out a 26-year-old, undersized, shoot-first point guard for a 24-year-old, six-foot-seven point guard with similar passing brilliance to Trae might be enticing, which leads us to a discussion about basketball fit.

Is LaMelo Ball a better fit for the Hawks than Trae Young?

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball shoots against Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young. | Mady Mertens-Imagn Images

Atlanta might feel that LaMelo’s game melds better with their new identity, which is based around its trio of young wings: Jalen Johnson (24), Dyson Daniels (22), and recent No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher (20).

Adding LaMelo to that mix would make Atlanta even longer on defense, and there wouldn’t be a huge drop-off offensively, as LaMelo can do a lot of the things Trae offers offensively, even if Melo hasn’t done any of it nearly as consistently.

Who knows ... maybe guys like Johnson and Risacher would thrive even more on offense without playing alongside Trae and his volume shooting.

There’s also the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis to consider. Porzingis can give you 20 points per game when he’s healthy, which is another reason why the Hawks wouldn’t need Trae’s scoring as much next season. And to interject with another financial talking point: Porzingis' expiring deal could free up Atlanta to keep paying LaMelo’s contract past 2025-26 without too much cap stress (if the Melo-Hawks fit was working).

Trae Young might help the Hornets rebuild more effectively

For the Hornets, getting Young would allow them to keep tastefully tanking (without trying to) while maintaining an entertainment factor for their fans. With one to two seasons of Young at the head of a young roster, you’d likely get one or two more lottery picks to add to the mix before letting Trae walk in free agency.

Zoom ahead to 2026 or 2027 (depending on whether Trae exercises his option), and if you’re Charlotte, you’d have Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and additional lottery picks developing on the roster, plus one or two max slots available. That’s a really solid position to be in, especially if Knueppel delivers on his potential.

Again, this isn’t an article advocating for trading LaMelo Ball. But if a Melo-Trae trade were to happen, Hornets fans should understand that it wouldn’t necessarily be a terrible outcome.

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