An upward trend appeared to be in the works, evidenced by the final stretch of the regular season.<\/p>\n
Read more Conor McGregor Loses UFC Comeback Fight in 69 Seconds: \u2018Massive Bummer’<\/a><\/p>\n The star point guard\u2019s body even held up better than it had in the previous four years, allowing the face of the franchise to log a personal-best number of minutes since 2021-22.<\/p>\n The national spotlight, with the final glare coming in the NBA\u2019s play-in tournament, was becoming more of the norm, exciting a starved fanbase desperate for success and somewhat numb thanks to the NBA\u2019s longest current playoff drought.<\/p>\n Yet, just hours after the conclusion of the second day of the NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets<\/u><\/a> said goodbye to the LaMelo Ball era<\/u><\/a>, sending him to Minnesota for Naz Reid even though the star guard loved it in the Carolinas.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt in my mind that we had a successful season last year by a lot of people\u2019s standards, and of course LaMelo was a huge part of that,\u201d Jeff Peterson<\/u><\/a>, the Hornets\u2019 president of basketball operations, said Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. \u201cBut again, sometimes these decisions, they can be challenging. But ultimately I do feel a responsibility to the organization and to the fans really across the world of the Hornets to do what\u2019s best for the long term of the franchise.<\/p>\n \u201cWish LaMelo nothing but the best because he\u2019s a great person, a great player. But ultimately we felt like again receiving Naz Reid and of course the draft capital that we were able to receive is going to offer more flexibility for us moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, the Hornets officially executed the four-team trade<\/u><\/a> with Brooklyn, Chicago and Minnesota, sending Ball and Josh Green to the Timberwolves in exchange for Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030, and second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033.<\/p>\n As part of the deal, Charlotte also picked up the draft rights to Matteo Spagnolo from Minnesota while also getting Mouhamadou Gueye from the Chicago Bulls to send him to the Timberwolves.<\/p>\n But why now?<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, look, again, these decisions are challenging at times, but when you look at the totality of the season and everything of where we were, it\u2019s important to take an honest look in the mirror of where you guys are as a team,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what I had to do at the end of the season. And I just feel like again, the goal is never to compete for a play-in spot. The goal isn\u2019t to get to the play-in or even the playoffs for one year.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s when he reiterated one of the things he\u2019s been constantly preaching in the two-plus years since he was tabbed as the person in charge of making the Hornets\u2019 personnel moves.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve said it plenty of times since I\u2019ve been here in Charlotte,\u201d he said. \u201cThe goal is to get to the playoffs and stay there for a long time and then eventually contend and compete for championships. So again, just the timing from the standpoint I\u2019ll go back to getting Naz Reid. When you can get a player of his caliber and, of course, the draft capital and the flexibility, we just felt like it was something that was able to achieve multiple goals in one transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if it\u2019s an unpopular move among a fan base and has some wondering whether Peterson may have put his job on the line, similar to former Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison with the Luka Don\u010di\u0107 trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n \u201cI never look at these decisions in terms of is this going to help me preserve my job,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cThat\u2019s not what I do this for. Again, at the highest level I feel like I have a responsibility to do what\u2019s best for the Charlotte Hornets\u2019 fan base and the organization.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, not one time will you ever see me make a decision \u2014 whether it\u2019s draft, trade, free agency \u2014 and look at it through the lens of if this goes well I\u2019m saved and if it doesn\u2019t, I\u2019m going to get fired. That\u2019s not why I do it. That\u2019s not why I will ever do it. Ultimately, it was a challenging decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are the takeaways from Peterson\u2019s chat with the media:<\/p>\n In explaining the move, Peterson kept referring to \u201csustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with acquiring more draft capital and financial flexibility aided by a $40.7 million trade exception \u2014 the largest in NBA history \u2014 the Hornets believe they have positioned themselves well to be in the market for premium talent.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are never going to make moves that are 365 days in a vacuum,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cEverything that we do is through the lens of years to come. Again, sustainability is the key word here. I could not be more excited about the roster right now. I\u2019m not going to sit here and put a win total, expectation or anything like that. Because quite frankly I don\u2019t think many people in the room thought we were going to win 44 games.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I think it\u2019s silly to put a cap on what this team can do and where they can go. I\u2019m just excited because I know in that locker room we have a ton of guys ready to compete, guys who have bought in, are skilled and competitive. I can\u2019t wait for the season to start and to see this group go out and compete together.\u201d<\/p>\n Peterson said he\u2019s had his eyes on Reid for a while, going back to his days as an assistant general manager with the Brooklyn Nets. He\u2019s bullish on what the veteran big man adds to the Hornets.<\/p>\n Read more Summer House’s Ciara Tears Up About Dating After Scandal: ‘It’s Really Hard’<\/a><\/p>\n Reid\u2019s willingness to sacrifice role and stats for team success aligns closely with organizational values.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the reasons he went undrafted is just there were some concerns with his work ethic,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cAnd this is why I give Naz all the credit in the world, because we\u2019ve seen a lot of guys just start blaming people. \u2018They didn\u2019t pick me for this reason\u2019 or whatever it may be, and end up kind of self-imploding their career.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Naz took the exact opposite approach. He didn\u2019t blame others. He took ownership, he took accountability, he got in the gym more, he changed his body, continued to work on his game, and now we see where he is. \u2026 He could start on any team in the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n Peterson was reluctant to tab anyone on the roster as the next face of the franchise, unwilling to put the onus on either of tier two rising stars Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s little doubt the Hornets are building around the duo with the departures of Ball to Minnesota and Miles Bridges headed to Phoenix in another trade that has yet to become official.<\/p>\n \u201cBrandon, I think everyone would agree he\u2019s an enormous talent,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cHe showed tremendous amount of growth last season battling through an injury, but was able to continue to persevere and again help us achieve some results that made our fan base and us very, very excited, proud. So, it\u2019s just his willingness to continue to fight through some pain and play through some injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, everyone knows he\u2019s skilled and athletic, and he has a true desire to win and continue to get better. So could not be more excited to be going into next season with Brandon Miller on our squad.\u201d<\/p>\n Same goes for Knueppel, the runner-up in the NBA\u2019s rookie of the year vote to good buddy and fellow Duke product Cooper Flagg.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just wants to continue to maximize himself,\u201d Peterson said, \u201cand ultimately do whatever he needs to do to get better and help us achieve the results that we want to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n Brandon Miller is on the mend and could be getting paid before the season starts.<\/p>\n Miller is recovering from having a surgical procedure in May to address left shoulder instability. He played through the injury for most of the 2025-26 season after it initially happened during Charlotte\u2019s second game of the season in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Miller is hanging with the rest of the Hornets\u2019 veterans in town during Las Vegas Summer League action and is in good spirits, suggesting he\u2019s on the right path to getting fully healed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been very, very pleased with the way he\u2019s attacking his rehab,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cHe\u2019s in the gym constantly. He knows he has to continue to work on his body and get stronger, and he\u2019s taking that to heart. So, at the same time, he\u2019s also doing everything that he can on the court in terms of just being creative with different drills.<\/p>\n \u201cContinues to again get better in the ways that he can. So, really excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller will earn $15 million in the final season of his four-year, $49.3 million rookie deal and is eligible for a contract extension that can pay him north of $200 million.<\/p>\n Talks are ongoing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had conversations with Brandon and his representation,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cThey know that we want Brandon here for a very, very long time. So, I won\u2019t get into the particulars of what we discussed, but bottom line is we want Brandon Miller here for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 6:34 PM<\/span> with the headline “Why did Hornets trade star LaMelo Ball? Jeff Peterson finally explains reasoning.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n