Resist the Urge to Judge Hornets' LaMelo Ball Trade in 2026-27

The Charlotte Hornets boldly traded away the face of the franchise this offseason. After six years, LaMelo Ball is with another NBA team. It is almost guaranteed that he will have another borderline All-NBA season in 2026-27.

It's also almost guaranteed that the Hornets will take a step back. They may not win 44 games. The Hornets likely won't have a lengthy stretch with the NBA's best net rating. They certainly won't have the best five-man unit in the NBA.

When that happens, the reactions are going to pour in. Fans are going to understandably rip Jeff Peterson and this front office to shreds. As someone who's still not at all on board with this trade, I am telling myself this as much as I'm telling you.

Be patient before judging the full trade. The Hornets knew they were trading a really good player and they knew they'd likely take a small step back this season. So when that happens, we can't act all surprised. That was, perhaps unfortunately, the plan.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) reacts after a basket against the New York Knicks | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This was all done in service of multiple things that we won't see the fruit of until the future. It was meant to bring in draft capital, obviously, and we won't see the fruits of that for several years.

Secondarily, it was meant to provide financial flexibility, which we also won't see right away. When the Hornets extend Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel and have money to make other moves, that's when we'll see what the Hornets had in mind.

It's going to be hard not to point out every LaMelo Ball triple double, every awesome highlight, and every big win the Minnesota Timberwolves get. That should be us is what we'll all say, and it will not be unwarranted.

There will be plenty of online reactions and relitigation of this trade. Accounts online will post "who won this trade" graphics with Ball's stats and it will probably look like the Timberwolves cleaned the Hornets out.

We just have to remember that this wasn't a bet about 2026-27 specifically. It was a bet on the long run, a bet that Ball's health would struggle over the years and that the added flexibility and draft picks would pay off.

We technically can't judge the deal until those things begin to happen, so while it's going to be easy to criticize the Hornets endlessly next season, resist the urge.

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