dpTwo months after one of the most surprising trades of the NBA offseason, the Charlotte Hornets have provided an inside look into the process that led to them dealing LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In a “Reel Access” video on their YouTube channel (starts at 10:43 mark), Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson and the front office are seen deliberating about a proposal from an unnamed team that is “meeting our price” on Ball.
Later in the video (starts at 24:05), after the Hornets and Timberwolves have agreed to the deal, front-office personnel are shown explaining that they need to reach out to the parties involved in the trade to ensure they hear about it from them before it breaks publicly.
It’s also notable at one point Peterson says the Hornets were “probably” trading Miles Bridges if they dealt Ball.
The full terms of the trade were Ball and Josh Green going to Minnesota in exchange for Naz Reid, an unprotected first-round pick in 2033, three first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030, and three second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033.
Bridges wound up getting moved in a separate deal to the Phoenix Suns in which Charlotte also sent out a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick. The Hornets got back Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and a 2033 first-round pick.
Trading Ball, in particular, was a stunner for a Hornets team that showed tremendous promise down the stretch last season when he played alongside Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miler.
Charlotte went 18-7 over its final 25 regular-season games, which is roughly a 59-win pace over 82 games. Even factoring in some of that success was inflated by playing teams that were tanking down the stretch, it did suggest the franchise was trending in the right direction.
Now, the Hornets have indicated they plan to move forward with Knueppel and Miller as their key pieces for the 2026-27 season. Ball gets a fresh start to show what he can do playing alongside a strong No. 1 option with the Timberwolves in Anthony Edwards.
Ball will play his first game back in Charlotte as a visiting player on Feb. 15 when the Timberwolves take on the Hornets at the Spectrum Center.
