NBA mock trade: LaMelo Ball joins Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio in latest B/R proposal

Matt Alquiza | 23 Hours Ago

Jan 12, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) scoops the ball around San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley (14) and forward Dominick Barlow (26) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

LaMelo Ball is the most talented player to ever don the purple and teal. The one-of-one's on-court talent mixed with his vivacious off-the-court personality have coalesced into a supernova star player that the Charlotte Hornets are happy to employ.

Unfortunately, the NBA media at-large doesn't like small market teams like Charlotte to have nice things. Ball's name has been floated in mock trades from the day the Hornets landed him in the 2020 NBA Draft, and a recent article from Bleacher Report is no exception. Check out the proposal below.

San Antonio Spurs receive: PG LaMelo Ball

Charlotte Hornets receive: F Keldon Johnson, PG Tre Jones, SG Malaki Branham, 2025 first-round pick (lottery-protected), 2027 first-round pick (unprotected), 2027 first-round pick (unprotected via Atlanta Hawks)

The picks in the proposed deal would do wonders in Charlotte's continued ascent into relevancy, but Jeff Peterson would surely demand more active talent than what San Antonio sends to Charlotte in this mock trade.

Johnson, Jones, and Branham, combine to average 23.8 points per game, almost eight less than Ball's output alone. A dollar bill is more valuable than a handful of change, and in this scenario, Charlotte would be swapping their dollar for a couple of quarters in a swap that makes no sense for the Hornets.

To be fair: the combination of Ball and Victor Wembanyama would be extra-terrestrial. The pair of aliens would be nearly impossible to guard in a two-man game, and there are no limits to how much a pairing with Chris Paul would improve Ball's game.

Nevertheless, this trade ain't happening. Ball is too valuable to the Hornets both on and off the floor, and it's going to take significantly more than this proposed haul to pluck him away from the Queen City.

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