Blockbuster NBA trade as the Charlotte Hornets send star guard LaMelo Ball to the
The Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster NBA trade.
According to ESPN insider Shams Charania, the Hornets are also trading away Josh Green. In exchange, the Timberwolves are giving up Naz Reid and a collection of draft picks.
The three first-round pick swaps will be in 2028, 2029 and 2030. The Hornets also will get three second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033.
Ball was reportedly happy in Charlotte after a rejuvenated Hornets finished just one play-in win short of the playoffs last season. They have not been in the postseason since 2016.
But the Hornets fielded a number of ‘aggressive’ offers in recent days, with the Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers also keen on Ball.
Ball, who was drafted by the Hornets with the No. 3 overall pick in 2020, still has three years left on his current contract. On July 6, he will be eligible to sign a two-year, $119.2million extension.
The Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves
Josh Green (left) is going to Minnesota too, while Naz Reid (right) is heading to the Hornets
He will join up with Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards to form one of the NBA’s most promising backcourt pairings. Edwards was taken No. 1 overall in 2020, two picks before Ball.
Ball, an All-Star in 2022, has struggled with ankle and foot injuries during his career, but he played in 72 games last season and averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.
This trade is expected to be included as part of the transaction in which Minnesota agreed to send Julius Randle to Brooklyn earlier this month in a deal that also involved the Chicago Bulls.
It will create an NBA-record trade exception of nearly $41 million for the Hornets.
The deals cannot be finalized until July 6, when the league moratorium on such moves is lifted.
It’s yet another blockbuster for the league, which has seen Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded by Milwaukee to Miami for a package that includes Tyler Herro, a move that followed the Randle deal before the draft.