How the Hornets Are Going to Make Up Lamelo Ball’s Playmaking, Shot Creation

The Charlotte Hornets are losing two major things with LaMelo Ball landing with the Minnesota Timberwolves in one of the most stunning trades in franchise history: shot-creation and playmaking.

Ball did two things when he was on the court. He shot the ball a ton, and he set up his teammates with good shots. Without him, the Hornets have lost 19.4% of their shot attempts per game, 17% of their total points per game, and 26.9% of their assists per game.

That's a gaping hole on offense, and that's without even discussing how much he brings to the table that is either an advanced analytic or an untrackable intangible (like his gravity, for example). How will the Hornets make it up?

Well, in more ways than one, they're taking the Moneyball approach. A lowly team's best player has gone off to a perennial playoff contender, just like in the MLB scenario turned excellent Hollywood film.

And to quote Brad Pitt's Billy Beane in that movie, "Guys, you're still trying to replace [Ball]. I told you we can't do it, and we can't do it. Now, what we might be able to do is re-create him. Re-create him in the aggregate."

The Hornets are going to attempt to recreate the mercurial point guard in the aggregate with a sum of parts. Those parts are going to be almost everyone on the roster. As for the playmaking side, the Hornets are looking at a few things.

First, they're looking at Coby White as the primary ballhandler. Now, he's not a true facilitator, but with him and some increased creation (and self-creation) from Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel, with all three seeing increased usage, perhaps the Hornets get some of Ball's playmaking back.

Charlotte Hornets guard Coby White (3) in action against the New York Knicks | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Then, they drafted Christian Anderson Jr. One of the things he does best is pass the rock. He averaged 7.4 assists in his final collegiate season. That ranks first among all guards taken in the first round.

His development will be key, but it's clear the Hornets see him as a natural successor to Ball. He can also shoot really well, which brings up the next part of this: the shooting itself. Ball took a lot of shots, and he made a lot of threes. Anderson shot over 40% for his career from three.

The rest of it, though, will be made up in the aggregate by the rest of Charlotte's elite shooters. What they've done with every single move, save the Hannes Steinbach selection, is add a ridiculous amount of three-point shooting.

They already had plenty with Knueppel, Miller, White, and Liam McNeeley, while Grant Williams and Tidjane Salaün are also capable from three. But now, they've added more shooters: Naz Reid, Grayson Allen, Anderson Jr., and Royce O'Neale.

While none of them are Ball, they're not supposed to be. They're all just supposed to make up a fraction of him and the Hornets will have successfully Moneyballed their way into a better situation (provided it all works out, which it may not).

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