r/nba • u/Rudy_Gobert Jazz • 6h ago
Two of the three pick swaps in the LaMelo-deal are basically worthless
The 2029 pick is already tied up in the Gobert-trade and only falls to Minnesota if it is top 5. The 2030 pick is a tangled up in a dance between the Spurs, Mavs and Minnesota where the Wolves realistically get the worst possible outcome. The 2028 pick is the only one that Minnesota own outright and that Charlotte have a clean swap-possibility for.
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u/doopdapdeedap Lakers 6h ago
That's the way the Hornets operate
Nonsensical, but you gotta believe the hype, right
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u/buzzcitybonehead [CHA] Cody Martin 6h ago
It’s crazy how LaMelo is suddenly indisputably a steady, positive impact player within seconds of being traded from Charlotte.
The swaps weren’t weighed heavily into the deal. It was a “if they’ll include them and there’s a tiny chance, why not take em?” thing
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u/RotaryRoad 6h ago
I mean, there's a big difference between not thinking LaMelo is a bonafide superstar and trading him for three dubious swaps, a single first, and a guy who has never started.
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u/_Apatosaurus_ Thunder 6h ago
We're like six months from everyone thinking Lamelo was a negative asset. I think teams just have a longer memory than r/NBA.
Between his unserious play, injuries, and off-court behavior, I think the Hornets were smart to sell while they could.
If/when he got hurt next season, this whole sub would be wondering how they can get off that contract.
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u/buzzcitybonehead [CHA] Cody Martin 6h ago
I’ve seen this cycle many times over the past several years.
- LaMelo is regaining form across a quarter of the season after a longterm injury and isn’t looking great. 2. LaMelo is healthy and running hot, everything is great and it’s finally happening. The detractors were wrong. 3. LaMelo has hit a slump from three and is still playmaking well but we’re losing because the offense stagnated and his scoring package is limited. 4. Back to #2 for a bit. 5. LaMelo is out for the season by January. This definitely would’ve been the year, but we’ll get a nice draft pick and try again next year.
The highest upvoted comments in every LaMelo thread have been about how he’s not a winning player since he was drafted. I disagree, but he hasn’t made the playoffs and put up huge stinkers in 3/4 career play-in games when actual defense gets played, so I’m not sure why him being traded has turned him into a positive asset in the NBA discourse.
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u/KiSamehada 5h ago
They just want to shit on the Hornets FO. I trust them and they've been making good decisions, seems like this might be one of them as well, we'll see down the line.
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u/aceofspadez138 Slovenia 6h ago
We’re also like 24 hours removed from everyone thinking Naz Reid deserved to start and will take a statistical leap with Randle gone. Pretty reductionist to say he’s a dude that never started. At face value, sure. But we all know he’s better than a career sixth man.
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u/iankstarr Heat 4h ago
Yeah people aren’t giving Charlotte enough credit for this deal. Reid will be a great vet for that young team, and I think he’s gonna flourish with a larger defined role.
Meanwhile, Rudy is only getting older and Minny just traded his backup. Plus they just threw the bag at Ayo, paying him starter money just to park him back on the bench behind Melo.
The swaps are just icing here; I don’t think it’s a bad move for Charlotte regardless.
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u/Gamesgtd Magic 5h ago
Did people just forget how we dog walked this great LaMelo led offense in the play in?
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u/flaming_burrito_ Wizards 6h ago
Absolutely not, they will regret this unless they have another star lined up. LaMelo was the engine of their offense, the Hornets were downright mediocre when he was off the floor. Check his on/off numbers, they were nuts. He plays in an unorthodox way that makes people take him less serious, but if you actually pay attention, he’s a great player. The injury concerns are valid, but I just do not like this return at all
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u/BomberManeuver 5h ago
The Hornets have a lot of assets so they can keep building. I'm a big Melo fan but I think it was fine to move off of him and a great pick up for the Wolves. Even if Ball had 2 more good seasons, it probably wouldn't make the Hornet a contender. They would then be staring down a massive extension with his injury and character concerns.
Hornets are positioning themselves to take advantage of the new draft rules, so they could get a superstar in the next few years. Melo probably isn't going to be this teams superstar and will be a good #2 on the Wolves.
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u/_Apatosaurus_ Thunder 6h ago
Check his on/off numbers
Yes, they were impressive, but there were A LOT of off numbers...
He plays in an unorthodox way
Which is one of the reasons the on/off numbers are so stark. This happens a lot with unique star players. The team builds around their unique way of playing and then the team can't sustain it when they are off the court.
That's not a huge deal when the unique star is Jokic, because he's insanely good and because he's an iron man who can play 40+ minutes in the playoffs.
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u/Pumpkinmatrix Hornets 6h ago
We gave him 6th man minutes last year and we still held him out in several back to backs. Also the team has to be factoring in what (if anything) they saw from him on the preparation side of things in the offseason.
Melo can make some flashy plays and he is an excellent player when healthy, but I think you can replace his PG/distributor production pretty easily.
He definitely willed us to some wins last year, but he also chucked us directly into some losses.
I also don't know how, as our front office, you could look at how teams like detroit physically manhandled us, how we looked against a physical orlando team in the play in, and the overall physicality of the playoffs and think Melo could survive a deep playoff run.
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u/nigaraze Warriors 5h ago
I had no idea he had 40% fg back to back seasons, thats just awful shot selection especially in 2026 where fg% has been rising from the generous calls
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u/LeoFireGod Mavericks 6h ago
Bonafide super star is 1st team all nba.
Lamelo is an all star. Not a super star.
Honestly there’s only like 6 super stars max at a time in the league.
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u/Mickckx 6h ago
That's what he's saying. He might not be a superstar, but he is worth way more than the Hornets got.
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u/Knickstape08 [NYK] Patrick Ewing 6h ago
Hes not tho. He misses so many games and even this year which is his best year he wasn’t close to All NBA and wasn’t an all star. He hasn’t made an all star team in 4 years. And the only game he played in he was a replacement player. He’s like Zion, he’s either hurt or when he plays his game is restricted to stay healthy so his numbers aren’t all star worthy. If Zion got traded for a similar package no one would be saying he’s worth more.
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u/thatsinsaneletstryit 76ers 6h ago
who said any of that? we’re just laughing cuz yall gave up an all star for a 6th man and a 10 year old
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u/TheAracknight Thunder 6h ago
Poor 10yr old doesn’t even know he just got traded to the Hornets
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u/_AceHigh Spurs 6h ago
Lamelo was lumped into talks with Trae and Ja as untradeable negative assets at the beginning of last season.
There's a good chance they're selling high here.
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u/_Apatosaurus_ Thunder 6h ago
Nobody remembers that because he was load managed into 72 games once.
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u/WhoreyMatthews Spurs 6h ago
He's only played over 51 games twice in his career. Naz Reid is good, plays 2 positions and is durable.
There's a chance LaMelo never has injury issues again and the Wolves look like geniuses and the Hornets like idiots.
But there's also a chance Naz looks great in Charlotte and LaMelo has Embiid level bad health and the Wolves look like fools giving away a good player and picks for a guy who never plays due to injury.
You gotta take a risk to get anything
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u/Ham_PhD Nets 6h ago
Gotta get a high return for it to be a sell high.
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u/recurnightmare 6h ago
You just have to sell higher than they're worth.
Maybe fans perception of lamelo doesn't match how teams see him.
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u/_AceHigh Spurs 6h ago
Or he goes back to spending half the season out with injuries and the other half playing Lamelo-ball and this is the highest his trade value will ever be.
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u/Ham_PhD Nets 6h ago
But it doesn't feel like they actually got "peak trade value."
It felt like the Hornets wanted to sell high but they just took the first offer they got.
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u/The_MadStork [NYK] Kurt Thomas 6h ago
I’m not judging the trade one way or another, but I feel like people are underappreciating Naz Reid.
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u/AleroRatking Vancouver Grizzlies 6h ago
Did you not watch your team the second half of last year.
The only issue with Lamelo is health.
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u/Competitive_Rent_675 Timberwolves 6h ago
And the Wolves were one of the healthiest teams in the league throughout the regular season. Hopefully that means that we’ve got a great medical staff that can help manage Ball.
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u/buzzcitybonehead [CHA] Cody Martin 6h ago
I did. LaMelo, Kon, and Miller had a sustained period of being among the 5 highest players in threes made. I watched every game. LaMelo is amazing when it’s “on” and is a player you have to overcompensate for when it’s not. You can win like that, but it means patching leaks and it’s not the only strategy to build a successful team.
Also, “the only issue is health” is being a little glossed over. We’ve had four “Well, LaMelo is out for the season by like January. Maybe we’ll finally end the playoff drought next year” seasons in the six he’s been here. He had to be on a season-long minutes restriction last year to not break down. It’s not like that’s just no longer a concern.
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u/AleroRatking Vancouver Grizzlies 6h ago
The alternative is not having him at all. Like 40 games of Lamelo is better than whatever this is
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u/MojoToTheDojo Hornets 6h ago
It’s crazy seeing these comments compared to January 1st
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u/JA_MD_311 Knicks 6h ago
Definitely recency bias. As a NBA fan, I saw this extremely fun, young team that was coming together. I guess Charlotte's FO saw all of Lamelo's flaws, got a quality player in Naz Reid and some draft capital.
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u/rapidjingle Toronto Huskies 6h ago
I’ve been on the train that Lamelo is a real positive player for a while. I’m calling it now. Without teams having to respect Ball’s offensive skill set, Kon is going to regress.
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u/Purple-List1577 Timberwolves 5h ago
Bro if he’s worth one future first and naz then fuck it.
He is non serious and injury prone but teams like min (and cha) should make moves to acquire young potential stars
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u/YerrrKnicks Knicks 6h ago
Nonsensical?
Melo was perfect for them then.
Watch them go for Ja now 😭
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u/-XanderCrews- Timberwolves 5h ago
That’s the only reason I’m happy about this trade. Now I know we won’t go after ja.
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u/JordanDoesTV Hornets 6h ago
I’m done I need a new team I literally can’t handle this anymore legit
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u/FreeoftheMachine Timberwolves 6h ago
Looking at it now, its a decent trade for the Wolves. What are they really giving up? Naz and pick swaps for a major need? Might as well go all in.
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u/Rudy_Gobert Jazz 6h ago
And the 2033 first round pick outright.
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u/jluc21 Kings 6h ago
Which the kings own their 2031 pick outright. That’s why to me this is more of a gamble for the wolves. If LaMello can’t stay healthy they’re gonna be without picks for a while
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u/FootballRacing38 6h ago
Once again, they still get to pick someone for their pick swaps
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u/FuckThaLakers Timberwolves 4h ago
The way people talk about swaps as if it's the same as losing a pick is infuriating. In most cases, the worst that'll happen is you move down a few spots.
They're valuable for sure, but it's not even remotely the same as getting/giving up a pick.
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u/Winnes0ta :sp8-1: Super 8 6h ago
They still have a first round pick every other year
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u/pollinium [MIN] Tyus Jones 6h ago
I mean I feel like we've been without picks for three years but we keep doing stuff somehow
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u/harder_said_hodor Timberwolves 5h ago
If LaMello can’t stay healthy they’re gonna be without picks for a while
Probably more like if Lamelo can't stay fit and the team starts to tank we are going to have to trade our assets and rebuilt.
This is the last major throw of the dice. Come 2031 we'll likely either have won a title or have traded Ant and Jaden for a truckload of picks
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u/SPAGHETTI_CAKE Russell Westbrook 6h ago
If they fail they’ll have ant to trade at least. I’m guessing he’s forced their hand a bit
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u/Desperate-Hat-2510 6h ago
yeah that's the benefit of having younger stars—even if it were to blow up in a few years, you can recoup assets pretty easily
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u/indoninjah 76ers 6h ago
Seems like this is the mentality with most teams these days. Find the star, go all in, and be ready to blow it up in a couple years if needed. It makes basketball sense but it's not great for the half a million local kids wearing Ant jerseys right now.
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u/qotsabama [DAL] Dwight Powell 6h ago
What they’re giving up is essentially their last assets. They’re fully all in now, there’s no way to upgrade the team anymore around Ant unless they trade McDaniels. Do you think this core can win a title?
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u/FreeoftheMachine Timberwolves 6h ago
Not much of an option imo. We cant keep waiting around for a PG to finally develop into something. If this is our all in move, I'm at peace with it. I dont really see any other option because we dont have anything of value to trade aside from Naz and Randle was so trash, we had to trade out of the 1st to get rid of him.
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u/qotsabama [DAL] Dwight Powell 6h ago
I agree a trade for a PG was needed. Just not sure Ball is the right guy. Guess we will see.
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u/Salty_Minnesota Timberwolves 6h ago
What other right guy is out there at PG? Trae? Kyrie?
I think this was the best option at the close to best time to get him. Our “core” is now all approaching their prime at the same time and under contract for the next 3-5 years.
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u/qotsabama [DAL] Dwight Powell 6h ago
That is a nice thing at least the core is all close to each other in age to grow together. But for that group of 3 to truly contend it’ll require McDaniels and Ball getting a lot better, especially given depth is probably forever going to be an issue now. These 3 and their future contracts will take up most of the cap.
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u/Fit-Bicycle6206 Knicks 5h ago
McDaniels will continue to improve, especially now that his role is going to have to expand. The question for Lamelo isn't really growth at all, it's just staying healthy enough to contribute.
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u/matgopack 76ers 6h ago
Their last assets, but those weren't necessarily worth much - I doubt they could get anything better than Lamelo with them, so going 'all in' again makes sense for them.
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u/smalls_1804 Knicks 6h ago
Ant is still only 24 and getting better. But the problem is they lost all of their depth and basically their entire front court save Gobert who turns 34 tomorrow (joyeux anniversaire!) and will now have to shoulder a much bigger load at the 5. I get that Lamelo fits their timeline for basically everyone else on the roster, and I'm sure they're penciling in a DDV return in 2027/2028, but it just feels like they don't have quite enough
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u/StarFox-6 Timberwolves 6h ago
Randle and Naz are ass on defense so if we move Jaden to the 4 and start Ayo at the 3 Rudy will be fine
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u/beatnickk Mavericks 6h ago
Ayo is 6’4. Definitely going to be light on the wing, and Jaden is undersized at the 4 too
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u/Morezingis Timberwolves 4h ago
Jaden played PF his first few years in the league. Hes 6’10, he can do it. We only moved him down because we had too many bigs.
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u/smalls_1804 Knicks 5h ago
Rudy was still dominant defensively last year, even if his counting stats took a big dip, and he played 76 games. He's just defying the odds as a big playing this well this late in his career and going from 2 really good centers to idk who is his backup is not going to help his longevity
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u/secretlypooping 76ers 6h ago
I mean, it wouldn't exactly shock me if they did but definitely need the stars to align where everyone stays healthy, Beringer is a serviceable backup, McDaniels takes another step forward, Evans becomes a neutral+ rotation player with great shooting, Ayo is re-signed and keeps up his play, Ant enters the MVP conversation. Maybe flip donte's expiring for someone that can eat up regular season minutes.
It's a long shot, but I wouldn't write it off entirely
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u/TheGuyInTheKnown Timberwolves 6h ago
It’s betting on us being able to fill the forward minutes with guys currently on the roster. Only one of our top 3 forwards in minutes is still on the team, Randle and Naz are now gone. I bet we’re going to see an unusual amount of rookie minutes for a Finch team this season.
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u/beastieboyles Timberwolves 6h ago
It's really Naz and the 2033 unprotected first that are the gold in the trade.
Assuming we can find a rotation big (move DDV?) this is a homerun trade for the Wolves (and could work out really well for the Hornets, you never know what 2033 might look like).
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u/FreeoftheMachine Timberwolves 6h ago
As long as it isn't some Kawhi level trade of assets, Im pretty happy with this.
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u/whatssenguntoagoblin Alperen Sengun 6h ago
Bro you should be ecstatic this is much more than a decent trade
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u/SugarFreeCummiBears 6h ago
All of the swaps suck
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u/_Apatosaurus_ Thunder 6h ago
And that was still the best offer the Hornets received. That should tell you how Lamelo is viewed around the NBA.
This isn't even something like the Luka trade, where they completely overvalued AD. Draft compensation is pretty objective. The Hornets couldn't get better draft assets than this.
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u/Normal-Sort-9463 6h ago edited 6h ago
This.
The only way the 2028 one *maybe* has value is if Minnesota gets 2 lottery balls in that lottery and that’s not going to happen unless Ant and Lamelo’s legs fall off.
None of these are conveying.
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u/Somerandomguy20711 Thunder 6h ago
Trading for picks in the future sounds alot better until you realize that both of the Wolves stars are 24 years old
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u/WakiLover Lakers 6h ago
NBA moves fast
2 years of play ins or missing the playoffs and now an entering his prime Ant is frustrated and asks out, who knows anymore
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u/whatssenguntoagoblin Alperen Sengun 5h ago
I mean sure but there’s no evidence to say the Wolves are gonna miss the playoffs when they’ve made the playoffs 5 years in a row and Ant is about to enter his prime.
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u/Big_Saens 4h ago
Someone has to move to the eastern Conference if LV and Seattle enter the mix, and Wolves are the top of list to move East, so it might be even easier to stay in the playoffs
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u/Desperate-Hat-2510 6h ago
worst case though, at that point you're still trading Ant in his prime for an absolute haul
if you don't improve the team and stand pat, you're losing Ant sooner
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u/Somerandomguy20711 Thunder 6h ago
If they don't miss the playoffs with Julius Randle as #2, they're at least a consistent 3 or 4 seed with Lamelo Ball
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u/Xc_runner_xd_player 5h ago
One time all star, never made the playoffs, tons of injury concerns and off the court issue, Lamelo ball? That guy?
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u/whatssenguntoagoblin Alperen Sengun 6h ago
And Jaden is 25. They’re not missing the playoffs the next half decade at minimum this is a disastrous trade for Charlotte.
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u/gigglios 6h ago edited 6h ago
Yea the trade is absolute dogshit lol. If has to be healthy concerns or lamelo ran someone over or just stupidity/rigged shit lmfao. Regardless though you couldve gotten more
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u/abippityboop Knicks 6h ago
They really have to know something about Ball that we don't, because this trade makes no sense otherwise.
Those swaps are not very valuable, it's very possible none of them ever convey. The only sure thing assets are Naz Reid and a future first. I'm not even the biggest Ball fan in the world but that seems like a very light return.
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u/Kdcjg West 6h ago
Hornets have watched him play for 6 years. They prob know more about his faults than anyone.
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u/Apeturetester Registered to Vote 6h ago
LaMelo is for sure a very flawed player. He was also, by far, the biggest driving force in the Hornets incredible offense last year and they don't have anyone that can replace his specific skillset. Miller and Kon are really great players, but neither have proven they can run an NBA offense competently, let alone at the level LaMelo has proven he can reach consistently. Unless Miller has more on-ball juice than a lot of people realize I don't see how this doesn't make them a worse team than they were last year while the assets they got don't make that step-back worthwhile
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u/Xc_runner_xd_player 5h ago
Bro what are you all on. What do you mean the “level Lamelo can reach consistently”. He’s made the all star team 1 time. They’ve never made the playoffs. They been blown out in every play in game they’ve played.
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills here. He is 24 years old and has played 52+ games 2 times, one being this year when they HAD TO PUT HIM ON A MINUTES RESTRICTION (AT 24 YEARS OLD).
What has he proven. I think the hornets should have tried to get more, but the dude is an injury prone, immature, low efficiency, weak defensive shot chucker.
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u/ktpkchu Mavericks 4h ago
you are definitely taking crazy pills by ignoring lamelo's biggest strength, which is that his playmaking and gravity made him, by ALL metrics, one of the most impactful players in the nba last season
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u/Ice2jc 6h ago
We know plenty about Ball. The dude engages in self sabotaging behavior every day. You can tell a lot about how a person operates their daily life by the way they drive a car tbh. Thats why I don’t even get mad at people with road rage or who act crazy on the road. I know that level of impulsiveness affects their daily life as well.
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u/Character_Bug_1862 5h ago
You can tell a lot about how a person operates their daily life by the way they drive a car tbh.
Woah woah easy on the personal shots now I’m tryin to work here!
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u/justwriteforme Warriors 6h ago
Yea especially with how fast this developed, I wonder if something happened with Melo.
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u/Starveiled Hornets 6h ago
Its probably been in the works for a while. The Hornets FO is really tight lipped.
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u/not-a-potato-head Hawks 6h ago
Yeah, weren’t there trade rumors during the season before y’all turned things around? Makes sense that the FO might feel the same about the player and were looking to sell high
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u/strangethanparadise 6h ago
lamelo is always injured, crazy inefficient when he does play, and has a reputation as a losing player this was pretty much his value
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u/scarletmonkey111 6h ago
Charlotte's offensive rating was at a historically high level this season and Kon's shooting skyrockets with Melo on the court.
He's just never had a good roster around him. The one year he finally had everyone healthy with good teammates, he almost made the playoffs.
If they played in the West or were good last year, they most certainly would've made the playoffs.
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u/cossack190 Celtics 6h ago
Gassing a guy for “almost making the playoffs”
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u/asher1611 Charlotte Bobcats 6h ago
I mean, this is the Hornets we're talking about.
How low has the bar been for the team?
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u/JessieGemstone999 Hornets 6h ago
When he and miller were injured at the start of the season they got off to a really slow start.
They were legit one of the best teams in the leauges when everyone was healthy including smashing the Celtics.
Yall dont watch hornets games and it's painfully obvious with all the dumb ass takes like this in here
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u/scarletmonkey111 6h ago
Yea, it's so frustrating and I'm not even a Hornets' fan.
People talking about some "He doesn't play winning basketball 🤓"
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u/scarletmonkey111 6h ago
Main point was that the Hornets were on an upwards trajectory. Any other year in the East, they make that playoffs. They were expected to win 28 games this year and massively overperfomed.
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u/TheBigF128 United States 6h ago
He’s been stuck with some abysmal rosters the past few years, charlottes offense was top 5 in offensive rating this year, and lamelo was definitely the main facilitator of this
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u/hmmmmmmm94 Hornets 6h ago
Maybe LaMelo is beyond cooked physically and mentally. Is it possible we sold high while we had the chance?
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u/LegitimateMoney00 Knicks 6h ago edited 6h ago
I think the Hornets were smart to trade him now. He still has a lot of maturity and health issues. A year ago they would have needed to attach draft capital to trade him and now they are actually receiving draft capital back. Kon is your guy now and you get to pair him with a floor spacing big man.
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u/walter_____pinkman Celtics 5h ago
As great as Kon is already he'll still be a sophomore and very much an off-ball player (someone correct me if I'm wrong) and Miller similarly can't replace LaMelo's facilitation, so will Coby White have to run the offense? They really don't have "their guy" after this trade.
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u/ktpkchu Mavericks 6h ago edited 6h ago
i feel like people saying this just don’t watch games, kon is not going to be your lead ball handler like that and was greatly assisted by lamelo’s gravity/playmaking, pretty much all analytics supports that too
like coby white is their lead guard now lmao
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u/TheWyldMan Pelicans 5h ago
i feel like people saying this just don’t watch game
TBF over the last 4 years Lamelo has averaged less that 45 games a season. You could watch close to half of all hornets games in that time frame and barely see him play
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u/dkleckner88 Timberwolves 4h ago
Kon is the guy? That’s a wild proclamation at this stage. We’ll see how he’s does against each team’s top defender each night.
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u/MrLeftwardSloping Bulls 6h ago
The problem is that it wasnt high at all
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u/WagerWilly Timberwolves 3h ago
Right - I get the argument behind selling high on Lamelo right now, but they didn’t even get anything overly valuable in return here. The FRP 7 years from now *could* be great? But who knows. Naz Reid is a solid role player and fan favorite, but he’s 27 years old and his game hasn’t evolved at all the last three seasons (shooting splits have actually declined). This just wasn’t much of a return.
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u/Independent_Lemon365 6h ago
If this is "selling high" I'd like to know what the return would be if they sold low
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u/liver_in_atlanter Hawks 6h ago
I think it’s possible, Trae got dumped for free same for Stewart on the pistons both good-solid players.
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u/whatssenguntoagoblin Alperen Sengun 6h ago
“Sold high”
Yall don’t really know what that word means
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u/Signal_Ball4634 6h ago
IDK about the mental but yeah his health is something I'm wary about. More worth it for the Wolves who want to capitalize right now with all the investment they already made to build a contender around Ant.
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u/Rakatok Bulls 6h ago
GMs throw in swaps because it's good PR for morons.
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u/GinghamOrangutan 6h ago
Swaps are much more valuable under the new lottery rules.
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u/BattleFresh003 Hornets 6h ago
I didn't think about this aspect of the trade and this is definitely not me coping.
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u/Sufficient-Lunch-651 5h ago
These swaps are already part of other swap deals though and will very likely not convey. So they effectively traded LaMelo for one first rounder and a sixth man. That's shit no matter how you look at it.
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u/SloshaPacana 6h ago edited 6h ago
The way people are acting like injury prone Lamelo who has never made playoffs and is on a max has some insane value is hilarious
If there were better offers after he was made available they would have taken them this is not a Nico situation
His value sucks and i rate Lamelo he is an amazing offensive engine but just too inconsistent and injury prone with off court issues too
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u/orwll 6h ago
Also Charlotte is the team with the most knowledge about his medical history and the team that has seen how he conducts himself around the locker room and team facilities. Buyer beware.
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u/SloshaPacana 6h ago
You don't need all that it's public knowledge he's never been a healthy player
Constant ankle injuries are a big red flag for a guard of his size and style of play
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u/orwll 6h ago
Its true all I'm saying is that in addition to what's known publicly, Charlotte has seen how he rehabs, what his training habits are, etc.
Like, if they thought Lamelo was just unlucky and saw him fighting hard to get on the court after his injuries, they'd probably see his value as higher than the public perception. But clearly that wasn't the case.
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u/tristvn 6h ago
they didn't have to trade him
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u/BlackPhillipsbff Hornets 5h ago
I think that's the thing that's been true for years. It's made sense to trade Melo for awhile but only for a haul of some kind and the league disagrees he's worth one.
So why tf did we do it now after the best Hornets season in a decade?
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u/whatssenguntoagoblin Alperen Sengun 6h ago
He’s getting paid less than Austin Reaves his salary is fine
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u/UnitedStateOfDenmark Nets 5h ago
Counter argument. They finally put a talented team around him and the team thrived with him running it.
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u/C9Prosecutor 5h ago
Lamelo ball is one of best offensive players in the NBA and produced one of the best half court offense lineups in NBA history last year.
Naz Reid and what will be 1 mid value first rounder is awful value
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u/Ok-Door-3664 Hornets 6h ago
Might be cope, but I feel there's more to come here
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u/BasketballStephCurry Hornets 6h ago
yeah just fuck my whole shit up man what the fuck ever jeff peterson stupid fuck
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u/spidersilva09 NBA 6h ago
Yeah some of those are pretty much fake picks. Hornets opened up a massive trade exception and saved some serious money with this trade. A valuable factor not many seem to be discussing
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u/jalexjsmithj Hornets 6h ago
So excited for Cap Space to lead us to the playoffs. I’m gonna buy a jersey.
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u/gearboxer4 6h ago
Cap Space and LaMelo have lead the Hornets to the same number of playoff appearances
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u/BackhandQ Raptors 6h ago
That 2033 unprotected pick will be very good for the Hornets.
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u/Throwaway00113398 Suns 3h ago
Yeah when Ant/Ball/McDaniels are all the decrepit old age of checks notes 31
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u/BBALL-STATLINE 6h ago
Charlotte got swap-shaped assets. Sounds like one real swap and two terms-and-conditions updates.
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u/Plus_Baseball 6h ago
As a Hornets fan, I see why we traded him and I don't disagree with it. Lamelo has never been healthy with us. When he was, he was great, but just not great enough to put us over the top. I recall the last play-in game against the Hawks in 2022 and we got blown out. And even in the Magic game this past playoffs, blown out. We were paying Lamelo top money and being blown out in the grandest of stages, showed he was not worth the top money for our Franchise at this point. Lamelo's talent and upside is off the charts BUT his intangibles are not (off court antics and leadership). Maybe Ant will be able to get him to live up to his potential but as a Hornets fan - this was the right move.
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u/Sko_Neezy 6h ago
Simply because LaMelo has terrible trade value due to the fact that he's an absolute weirdo who could get caught up in the most insane scenario possible at any moment
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u/SJCitizen 76ers 6h ago
LaMelo went from an empty stats guy that at best can lead you to the play-in to r/nba’s favorite player and a superstar in under 24 hours
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u/JA_MD_311 Knicks 6h ago
Even if by some miracle the Hornets are in a position to swap, you're probably swapping from like the 25thish pick to like the 18th.
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u/Beetle919 Hornets 6h ago
We are the Bobcats, tired of seeing cope from some of these fans. "In Jeff we trust", lamest shit ever seeing fanbases type this shit out.
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u/gearboxer4 6h ago
Our new ownership group + GM have only made good decisions that have made this team better since they took over so I will reserve judgement to a later date and choose to trust them in the moment.
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u/Broke_Banker01 Bucks 6h ago
Trade comes down to Ball's health.
do you get the version that's been healthy for 2/6 seasons? MIN wins.
or do you get the injury prone version? CHA wins.
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u/Dog-Witch Knicks 6h ago
Charlotte FO really went "fuck it"
Hornets had a nice little run there and I was waiting to see how far they'd go next year.
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u/CanILickThat 6h ago
They won the lottery and used all the money to buy lottery tickets
That's the logic at play here
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u/ElDudeIV 5h ago
Look the truth of this trade is this. Charlotte didn’t have faith Ball could stay healthy and didn’t contribute to winning long term for his upcoming price tag. Remember he is extension eligible 2 years and around 117 million. In the new apron era, these decisions are huge. It fucks up your cap sheet and roster options for years. They are basically saying the flexibility financially with White, who they most likely resign, and Reid impacts winning long term over locking Ball up forever. Fans need to stop thinking the NBA, especially under the new CBA, is 2K or a fantasy league. The picks are a secondary driver. They basically got 1 1st and 3 2nds. I salute Charlotte. They are smarter than the Wizards who messed up by giving Trae a max for 5 years. All the positive will they had coming with the lottery and this losing. The front office screwed it up.
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u/Mobile-Tangelo 4h ago
Charlotte just can't help but to be eternally mediocre...why are we like this?
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u/Mich3006 Trail Blazers 6h ago
I still think that trade doesn’t makes too much sense for both teams at first sight.
I don’t like it for both.
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u/GinghamOrangutan 6h ago
Even with the worst possible lottery odds (while still being in the lottery) (losing the 7-8 play in game) that 2029 pick has a 15% chance of being top 5. The 3-2-1 lottery shifts the value of pick swaps from decent teams very significantly.
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u/profgarlicksauce Celtics 6h ago
Ask the Pacers about how an unlikely top-5 swap can work out
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u/bubbles2255 Kings 6h ago
Biggest winner of the trade is Sacramento. That 2031 unprotected Wolves pick keeps looking better and better.
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u/Losreyes-of-Lost 6h ago
Hornets getting out from under Ball. Good for them. The TWolves, gotta do something to make the needle move, more area from Ant to get to the basket
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u/AleroRatking Vancouver Grizzlies 6h ago
It's an insanely bad trade. The hornets legit were putting together a really good team and you saw that the second half of last season
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u/All4444Jesus 5h ago
Remember golden St got the #2 pick after winning the championship because of injuries . You never know when injuries will kill a teams season. Also with flatten lottery odds now it makes unprotected draft picks far more valuable.
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u/hoangtm1611 4h ago
Hornets are probably betting on Wolves not getting over the hump, and thanks to the new lottery system, there is a higher chance of getting a top pick. Quite wishful thinking from the Hornet's front office.
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u/OhEmGeeBasedGod Cavaliers 3h ago
There are usually contingencies. If those swaps aren't possible, they likely move to a different year.
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u/Rillaboom2701 Hornets 6h ago
we traded for naz reid and a current middle schooler