NBA insider confirms why a LaMelo Ball trade isn't just Xs and Os

The future of LaMelo Ball as it pertains to the Charlotte Hornets has been discussed at length recently. Of course, this has been a topic of discussion for years now, but it's resurfaced with a vengeance now.

Ball's hurt and shooting poorly again, and there were reports (shot down by Ball himself) that he was open to a trade. Whether or not that's the case, trade speculation has followed him for a long time.

With the rise of Kon Knueppel and the current fall (at least in terms of efficiency) of Ball, a trade makes sense on paper. It would get rid of an expensive, injured player who shoots too much and takes bad shots sometimes, and pave the way for Knueppel and Brandon Miller to be the top two players.

But moving on from Ball is not just an on-court basketball move. It's something that changes a franchise permanently. Ball's not an irreplaceable talent, but he might just be an irreplaceable personality.

🎙️ @MotorCityHoops: "LaMelo Ball in Charlotte—it can be easy for me to say, like, 'Hey, trade him. Start to build this around Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller and all that.'

...LaMelo Ball's name makes that organization money. He's one of the most popular players in the league." pic.twitter.com/sHobHbJOzG
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) December 16, 2025

Bryce Simon, a Detroit Pistons insider, said to Sam Vecenie, "LaMelo Ball in Charlotte—it can be easy for me to say, like, 'Hey, trade him. Start to build this around Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller and all that... LaMelo Ball's name makes that organization money. He's one of the most popular players in the league."

Losing Ball goes way beyond the Xs and Os of basketball. For years, he's been the only player keeping this franchise remotely relevant. He's been the only name anyone cared about and the only player people showed up to watch.

Now, that shouldn't necessarily take precedence over doing what's best for the basketball team, but it must be weighed carefully in this scenario. Ball, in the 2024-25 season, was the 12th-most popular jersey among all NBA players.

That kind of popularity doesn't just happen, and it does lead to good things for the team. They get more revenue, which helps out a lot of different things. If Ball went elsewhere, his jersey sales might go up even higher, whereas no Hornet would come close to where he was.

Again, that has nothing to do with actual basketball, but trading a franchise player and a fan favorite has to go beyond basketball. Jeff Peterson can't just trade Ball because it might help bring in assets to rebuild with before considering what it'll do in the meantime.

For my money, it would hurt the basketball team a little, too, although I could understand moving on since he's always hurt and is seemingly incapable of playing efficient ball. But I also think it would really hurt attendance and revenue, which is a big thing to consider.

🎙️ @Sam_Vecenie: "Things that I've been told... I have not gotten the impression that LaMelo does not like Charlotte. I've gotten the impression that LaMelo very much likes the city and is very happy in the city."

Full segment on today's @GameTheorySamV: https://t.co/o9n0kKZKeh
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) December 16, 2025

For now, a trade is not imminent. Vecenie said to Simon that the sense he gets from sources is that Ball is very much happy with Charlotte and wants to stay there, and most reporting from anyone right now states that the Hornets want to see the Ball, Miller, and Knueppel trio in action for a long time before deciding anything.

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