LaMelo Ball could be going international (again).
The Toronto Raptors checked in on the availability of the Charlotte Hornets star Ball over the summer, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported Thursday. That would seemingly suggest that Toronto could pursue Ball once again ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, especially now that they are third in the Eastern Conference at 17-11 while the Hornets are 12th at 9-18.
Ball, the 24-year-old former All-Star, is currently at a low point of his value. He is averaging a modest 19.9 points per game on middling 40/32/88 shooting splits this season (to go along with 6.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game).
On top of that, Ball continues to be plagued by the injury fairy. He has appeared in only 17 of Charlotte’s 27 games so far this season due to ankle and wrist issues (though Ball did return to the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks).
When it comes to the Raptors, they have a good thing going on right now with their core trio of Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, and Immanuel Quickley. But Toronto has lost six of their last nine games now and may feel like they are still one piece away from true contention.
Ball is in the second year of sizable five-year, $203.9 million contract with the Hornets. We already heard a few weeks ago that three Western Conference teams might be in the mix for Ball. But now it looks like the asset-rich Raptors could be in on Ball too (as they appear to be going big-game trade hunting right now).
