Hornets' Trading LaMelo Ball May Be Worst Blunder in Charlotte Sports History

Charlotte sports fans have been desperate for good teams for a long time. Before 2025-26, the last time the Charlotte Hornets made the playoffs was 2015-16, and the last time the Carolina Panthers had a winning season (they still haven't) was 2017.

It's been ages since the city had a team or teams worth supporting with the undying adoration they so undeservedly bestow on the teams. The Hornets and Panthers have done virtually nothing to deserve the fan bases they have.

Finally, though, things seemed on the upswing. The Carolina Panthers made the playoffs, and the Hornets narrowly missed out after a blistering second half that put them among the NBA's best teams by almost any metric.

Things seemed to be coming together, and then the Panthers did their part by building on the success they had, adding the necessary talent to (on paper) take the next step from backdoor playoff team to contention.

The Hornets seemed poised to, even without doing much, take the next step, too, from Play-In exit to playoff squad. Then, they incomprehensibly blew it all up the night after the draft.

The Ball trade, as we've all covered numerous times, is abhorrent. The fans do not deserve this, and they're justifiably angry. Unfortunately, this isn't just a massive Hornets blunder. It ranks up there with the worst decisions in Charlotte sports history.

As I write this, I'm beginning to convince myself it's the worst one out of the major blunders the Hornets and Panthers have made. There are a few bad ones, but by and large, they all had an understandable reason behind them.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) moves the ball during the second half during the play-in rounds | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

When the Panthers cut Steve Smith, the franchise icon and should-be Hall of Famer, it was a stunning blow to a legendary figure on the Charlotte sports scene. Yet, as hurtful as it was for the fans, it made a little bit of sense.

The Panthers wanted to hand the locker room over to Cam Newton, the boisterous, exciting young QB. Making the quarterback the most vocal and most important figure on the team is actually a good idea for a young team, so while it hurt badly, moving on from Smith wasn't totally ridiculous.

Speaking of Newton, the Panthers cutting him ahead of the 2020 season was also a Charlotte-area blunder. But still, the logic wasn't outrageous. They felt he'd never be fully healthy again after two injury-marred seasons.

They weren't totally right, because he was good in 2020, especially pre-COVID, but still. Their line of thinking to release him wasn't silly (it was, however, silly, to replace him with Teddy Bridgewater of all people for about the same cost, but that's another thing).

The Hornets are not blameless. The Kemba Walker sign-and-trade was another brutal decision, because it sent the best player in franchise history, fresh off an All-NBA appearance, to the Boston Celtics (similarly, replacing him with Terry Rozier was as silly as signing Bridgewater. If you're moving on, move on and be bad!).

Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) celebrates with guard LaMelo Ball (1) after a three-point basket | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

But again, the logic wasn't horrible, even if it hurt to make the move. Walker was, as painful as this is to admit, not worth the super max he understandably wanted from the Hornets. Now, in hindsight, the Hornets spent the years they would've had Walker eating up so much money being nothing but mediocre, but not paying him that much was probably wise.

Yet, the LaMelo Ball trade doesn't have those qualifiers, at least not yet. The Hornets seem to be banking on a lot that doesn't seem logical. They seem to be banking on Ball never being healthy, even though he just proved he can be for 72 games.

The Hornets seem to be banking on their young stars taking steps forward, but their success so far has been extremely linked to Ball's play. Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller are, with all due respect, not great without their playmaker on the floor with them.

The Hornets also seem to be banking on them being better than the Timberwolves in the late 2020s, which is also a huge risk considering they just handed the Wolves someone who fills a longtime need in a major way.

Maybe it will all pan out and age like those other initially controversial decisions, but it is highly unlikely. And even then, at the time of those moves, the logic was easy to see. This time, we're all left scratching our heads.

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