​  Sources say LaMelo Ball has been looking forward to this upcoming season with the team that drafted him No. 3 overall in 2020 to try to build off of Charlotte’s momentum from 2025-26. The Hornets went a surprising 44-38 this season, only to fall at the final Play-In Tournament hurdle in Orlando and miss the playoffs for a league-high 10th consecutive season. We’re told that the Hornets are nonetheless listening to the offers they’re getting despite their recent success under second-year coach Charles Lee and could go ahead with a trade after the emergence of two players drafted after Ball — Rookie of the Year runner-up Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller — as fellow franchise cornerstones.marcstein.substack.com      ​Read More