Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor is joined by Andrew Sharp to discuss if Charlotte consider dealing the former third overall pick before the trade deadline. Check out the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
Do you think LaMelo Ball is going to be next?
Or why could the Charlotte situation be different?
Um, I don’t know.
I mean, I, the Hornets, When they’ve had everyone healthy, there’s something there.
And there’s a spark and energy that hasn’t been seen in Charlotte.
Basically my entire life, honestly, when you zoom out and look at this.
And so, I would let it marinate and see where it goes over the next couple of months here.
And if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t.
And then you try to move LaMelo this summer.
Are you gonna get anything for LaMelo Ball?
At this point in his career?
Probably not.
Um, but I wouldn’t try to rip the Band-Aid off now, um.
Unless I have to.
And that’s why, when I say I don’t know, Every couple of weeks, there are reports that LaMelo is unhappy.
He’s, like, cursing in the hallway, cursing at his coach in the hallway.
I don’t know.
I don’t know whether that’s real.
But I saw Perk mention something like that on a podcast.
Um, so, like, there’s nothing on the air.
It was, It was a dream.
Yeah, I’m just like, I don’t know.
It sounds like it might be more dysfunctional than it looks on court They’re healthy.
So, if the dysfunction is driving them to Make a move now, I would understand it.
But just on paper.
And based on what we’ve seen when they’ve been healthy, I wouldn’t feel like I have move, if I’m Charlotte, until I’m making a bigger decision this summer.
I’m with you there.
I mean, I think that’s spot on.
And you mentioned how there’s poten- you know, there’s something.
Yeah.
There we go.
Something good, you know, when they’re healthy.
And I feel like this year, you know, watching Con Conipal, Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball on the floor together; it looks good with the three.
And statistically, it’s great too.
If you look at the top offensive ratings, Three-man lineup combinations, minimum 230 minutes, the top 13 offensive ratings.
Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver… Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver.
And then Charlotte.
So, Denver has the Right.
Top 12 three-man lineup combinations.
Charlotte with a 127.50.
Rating.
But 13 with a bullet.
There you go.
Yeah, LaMelo.
Well, that’s what I mean.
It’s like, you know, it looks good, right?
Like there’s a flow.
It does.
Yeah.
They put 124 in the final, Char.
Exactly.
And, uh, You know, con is a real thing, and I think has changed the culture a little bit.
And he and Brandon Miller, the future is bright in Charlotte.
Whether LaMelo factors into the future is a completely open question.
But he doesn’t necessarily take anything off the table for that team if he stays healthy.
I mean, if I were Charlotte, why I’d want to move on from LaMelo is mostly his health and how difficult it is to plan to compete with a guy who is just unavailable half the time.
Or when you look at the last several years, I mean, he’s missed a lot of time.
And I just don’t trust his body more.
Than anything else.
But I could see a version of a healthy Hornets team that’s actually just a lot of fun to watch over the next couple of years if LaMelo is miraculously healthier than he has been through the first five or six years of the decade here.
Joseph Duchene a sports broadcaster, journalist and event host with over 15-years-experience in the industry. My career to date has seen me cover multiple World Cups, Olympic Games.
