Rumors

LaMelo Ball is allegedly leaving Charlotte with some unpaid debts. Court records viewed by The California Post on Tuesday show Ball was sued Monday — just weeks after he was traded from the Hornets to the Timberwolves — over accusations he owes a North Carolina landlord more than $100,000 in missed rent checks. According to a copy of the lawsuit, Ball and Agape Property Management Group entered into an agreement in December 2020 for the NBA player to rent two swanky units in a fancy uptown Charlotte condominium complex.

New York Post

But in Lee’s first interview since the official completion of all of the Hornets’ offseason moves, he laughed off the suggestion he wasn’t aware of the wheeling and dealing of Jeff Peterson, Charlotte’s president of basketball operations. “Yeah, I would say I was not caught off guard by it,” Lee told The Charlotte Observer. “I think one of the great things about our organization is that there’s always really good communication amongst all departments and groups. And I think that’s what Jeff does so well, is that he wants to communicate and collaborate with people. “And ultimately, he has to make some tough decisions to help our basketball team and our organization be in the best place to flourish and try to be the premier sports franchise.”

Charlotte Observer

John Gambadoro: The Miles Bridges trade and Luke Kennard signing are expected to be completed early next week. The initial trade with Charlotte, Minnesota and Brooklyn should be done this weekend. Phoenix can’t complete their transaction until that trade is completed. There is no risk of it falling apart, just timing.

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Shams Charania: Longtime NBA coach Steve Clifford is also joining the Wizards as a coaching advisor, sources tell ESPN. Clifford, who has held similar advisor roles for the Suns and Nets in recent years, coached as an assistant with Ewing in Orlando (2007-12). Ewing then served as an assistant under Clifford in Charlotte from 2013-17.sources tell ESPN. Clifford, who has held similar advisor roles for the Suns and Nets in recent years, coached as an assistant with Ewing in Orlando (2007-12). Ewing then served as an assistant under Clifford in Charlotte from 2013-17.

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Shams Charania: Charlotte acquires additional draft capital -- it has 20 second-rounders over the next 7 years and now the second-most tradeable picks in the NBA. The Rockets open roster flexibility after acquisitions of Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic, plus create a $13 million trade exception.

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Mirin Fader: "One thing that's actually never discussed with LaMelo is how much the locker rooms love him. They love him. Like, every place I've seen him, Chino Hills, Lithuania, Australia, Charlotte, which I went to a practice, I went to a shootaround when I was doing a Kon Knueppel feature and you can see all the teammates gravitate towards him because the same things that people are dissing, his humor, his fun, his, you know, charisma are what they are attracted to."

YouTube

ESPN personality Ryan McGee -- who just so happens to have deep Carolina roots -- talked about James’ love for Bojangles during a 2024 appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “Did you know LeBron James loves Charlotte?” McGee asked McAfee during that appearance. “And the reason he loves Charlotte is because Bojangles -- I’m not making this up -- Bojangles chicken. “When LeBron James was a rookie, the deal was he would leave games at the old Hive ... the takeaway food you get on the plane after a game for the visiting team was a little two-piece box of fried chicken from Bojangles. So LeBron James became so obsessed with Bojangles, he would on the plane -- as a rookie -- hand out cash. He would take it all home. “And finally, he would send the clubhouse attendant to go buy, like, one of these tailgate packs to take back to Cleveland with him.”

WBTV.com

Reid once again was brought up in talks for Brown after joining the Hornets, HoopsHype has learned. Charlotte has also gauged the trade market value of forward Miles Bridges, who’s on an expiring $22.83 million deal. His salary would be needed to make any Brown trade work with Charlotte. With that said, exploratory talks with the Hornets have cooled.

HoopsHype

That doesn’t mean that they weren’t or won’t be in the mix for other players. A couple league sources confirmed that the Raptors were interested in getting involved in talks with the Charlotte Hornets for mercurial point guard LaMelo Ball, a player Webster has always liked, which is one of the reasons he was intrigued by the Hornets' top job before current Charlotte GM Jeff Peterson was hired in 2024.

SportsNet

White, who was critical in Charlotte's overtime win against Miami and played just 17 minutes in a 121-90 blowout elimination loss to Orlando, had also communicated a strong desire ahead of free agency to be a starter in the league whether in Charlotte or elsewhere, sources say.

Yahoo! Sports

Charlotte also quickly resumed negotiations with White, who sources say initially turned down an offer following the Finals in search of a starting role, now with definite clarity on his potential future under Lee. (White's three-year, $74 million deal, as Yahoo reported earlier, is fully guaranteed with no player or team options.)

Yahoo! Sports

Illinois Men’s Basketball: From Champaign to Charlotte. Kylan Boswell signs a two-way contract with the Hornets.

Twitter

Marc Stein: Charlotte is indeed now trading LaMelo Ball to Minnesota, league sources say, after @TheSteinLine revealed Minnesota’s interest last night. The Hornets have successfully pried Naz Reid away from the Wolves and will now try to retain Pistons target Coby White in free agency.

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Shams Charania: BREAKING: The Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030) and three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033), sources tell ESPN.

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