The question of LaMelo Ball’s future may have to wait several more months before being litigated.
The Charlotte Hornets star point guard Ball is expected to remain with the team through the end of the 2025-26 season, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on Monday. Siegel notes that Ball’s future will then be discussed internally by the Hornets after that point.
Ball, still only 24 years old, is now in his sixth career season with the Hornets. But Ball’s numbers have taken a dip this year to 19.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per contest. That comes as rookie guard Kon Kneuppel has emerged as a budding No. 1 option in the backcourt, and third-year forward Brandon Miller continues to make a strong impact as a scorer with 20-ppg upside.
More problematically for Ball, we recently heard that he supposedly had a poor working relationship with Hornets head coach Charles Lee. With Charlotte sitting at 14-25 this season (potentially putting them in line for a fourth straight sub-30-win campaign), the franchise may have to do some real soul-searching this summer.
An All-Star selection back in 2022, Ball is currently in the third year of a five-year, $203.8 million designated rookie max extension that he signed with the Hornets back in 2023. While Ball continues to struggle with injuries and has not appeared in 50 or more games in a single season since his sophomore NBA campaign, his trade market would still be fairly robust if Charlotte decides to move on from him.
Earlier this season, Ball had to respond to a claim about him seemingly being unhappy with the Hornets. The former No. 3 overall pick has also faced unflattering work ethic reports and could now be on his way out of Charlotte, albeit not until the 2026 offseason.
