NBA vets support Hornets' decision to shut down LaMelo Ball

The Charlotte Hornets made the difficult decision to shut down LaMelo Ball for the season. With nine games remaining, it was announced that the superstar guard would have minor surgeries on ankle and wrist issues that had been bothering him.

The timeline would allow him to get fully healthy for once and have a full offseason to get ready for the 2025-26 campaign. Shutting him down also theoretically helps the team get a little closer to winning the lottery, last night's clutch win notwithstanding. NBA veterans Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons, whose Run It Back podcast often discusses Ball, like the move.

Hornets are shutting down LaMelo Ball to draft Cooper Flagg 🤯

"They got a legitimate reason to shut him down...they can put themselves in a better position to get Flagg, so by all means." - @TeamLou23

"They've missed 9 consecutive playoffs...this is good." - @ChandlerParsons pic.twitter.com/V6CcUPFYpA
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 31, 2025

Williams said, "You don't have minor procedures and surgeries for stuff that's not actually aching, so if these are a couple clean-up things, you gotta say that's a legitimate thing that they're concerned with his health." He also noted that it can also be that the Hornets know this will probably lead to a "few more lottery balls" for Cooper Flagg.

Parsons added, "It makes perfect sense. The team is 18-56, they're one of the bottom three to four teams in the league. They've lost five straight. They're 2-8 in their last 10. LaMelo Ball has had kind of nagging injuries throughout his entire young career."

Mar 20, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) signals for his three point shot against the New York Knicks during the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The former NBA star went on to say Ball is the Hornets' "everything, this is their stud." He noted, "Dude averages 25, 7, and 5. He's only going to continue to get better. There's a question of if he's a 1A guy on a championship team, who knows? Where they are right now, where this franchise is, where they're going? Yeah, a Cooper Flagg would be unbelievable to pair with a Brandon Miller, and with a Bridges, with a LaMelo Ball."

Parsons thinks adding Flagg in the lottery after nine missed playoffs in a row would give them a kickstart to catch up to the rest of the league in terms of talent. He believes shutting down Ball is good to get him healthy and it just might pay off in the long run, too.

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