The Charlotte Hornets might have a problem with their lead player.
On a recent podcast episode, Zach Lowe talked about LaMelo Ball and the negative impact he may be having on his team and their attempts to recruit new talent.
“You have some agents who are like, ‘I don’t know if I want to have my guy next to LaMelo Ball. I just don’t know if that’s a good fit for us,’” Lowe said, via NBACentral.
“You have some agents who are like, ‘I don’t know if I want to have my guy next to LaMelo Ball. I just don’t know if that’s a good fit for us.'” 😬
– Zach Lowe
(Via @ringer / h/t @HornetsReddit ) pic.twitter.com/Uich4sCvnW
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 20, 2025
Obviously, Lowe wasn’t able to divulge much more than that, so fans still don’t know the specifics or which players across the league have refused to play alongside Ball.
Still, this is not good news for the Hornets.
Ball averaged 25.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists during the 2024-25 season, shooting 40.5 percent from the field.
He was only able to play in 47 games, but he was still the centerpiece of the team.
If the Hornets are having a tough time adding people to their roster because of Ball, they will have to do some serious thinking.
There was a report earlier this week that said a draft prospect didn’t want to work out for the Hornets because they didn’t wish to play with Ball.
Is this becoming a trend?
If it is, it is a troubling one because the Hornets don’t want to let go of Ball, but they also don’t want to lose their future.
What is it about Ball that is creating such hostility?
Is it the way that he plays and how he perhaps focuses on his shooting over his teammates?
Whatever the issue is, it needs to be fixed soon, or else Charlotte could be in even more trouble.
NEXT: Draft Prospect Reportedly Didn’t Work Out With Hornets For 1 Reason
