Lavar Ball never raised his sons to care about public perception.
The one who embraced this the most was the youngest of three.
Several outlets reported that LaMelo Ball is “open” to being traded. According to reports, Ball is reportedly frustrated with the front office. The Hornets are currently 4-11.
It’s debatable whether the losing is the root of Ball’s frustration or if it is the reality that a new ownership group sees the future of the Hornets being built around Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.
Is Ball frustrated with being held accountable for the first time in his basketball life? In a recent 127-119 loss, Ball was benched for the final 4:26 of regulation. Ball was 5-21 from the floor with six turnovers.
Head coach Charles Lee knows that success comes from having a structure that can produce wins at the NBA level. Having a point guard like Ball operating with no guardrails isn’t the way to achieve that.
The potential problem with trading Ball is that the rest of the league knows what they are getting in Ball if he isn’t willing to change his outlook on how the game is played.
It would have to be an organization with an established culture. Of course, the first place thought of would be Miami. Thanks to Pat Riley, Eric Spoelstra is the most empowered coach in the NBA. Could the Heat environment change Ball’s style of play?
Another spot would be the Houston Rockets. Houston could use another ball-handler, and discipline won’t be an issue with Ime Udoka. The Rockets’ head coach is known to be no-nonsense and will come at you if he feels like there’s a need to be.
If he wants to learn how to play winning basketball, he can’t go to places like Brooklyn or Memphis because he will be allowed to continue to play in the way he plays now.
Dallas needs a point guard, but it’s very easy to see Ball and Jason Kidd clashing.
Knueppel Continues to Flourish
It was another player from Duke who was supposed to have the big rookie season, and though Cooper Flagg is starting to catch a groove, his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel is performing at a high level.
Knueppel leads rookies in scoring and 3-pointers made. He has two 30-point games and nearly a triple-double against the Los Angeles Lakers.
