For LaMelo Ball, an extended partnership with the Charlotte Hornets is just a no-brainer.
Both at the personal and basketball standpoint, Ball can only verify that he already found home in the city of Charlotte.
“The decision, it wasn’t really hard,” Ball said, via Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “All my years here I’ve had a good time. Life wasn’t bad. The basketball aspect, that’s not really going well. You kind of want to live your life and just have fun and just be living well. So in Charlotte I was doing that, so it just all felt like a great choice.”
The Hornets committed on a big time pact with the All-Star guard this offseason, inking a five-year, max rookie extension which may reach up to $250MM in amount which makes it the highest transaction throughout the franchise’s 35-year existence.
The groundbreaking deal only means that Ball is ready and on target for much brighter days to bounce back from a forgettable campaign last year.
Ball, 21, was just limited to 36 games of play last 2022-23 season after suffering from ankle issues. Hel ultimately opted to take a season-ending surgery back in March, halting his solid individual averages of 23.3 points, 8.4 assists and 6.4 boards.
The talented guard’s absence ultimately dropped Charlotte’s intent to end their ongoing seven-year postseason drought, but Ball is all in to deliver a needed bounce back outing next season
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Ball said. “We had injuries, but that’s a lot of motivation to get back on the court and do what I love. With the injury, the doctor said I’m 100. So, I’m just getting on the court now and taking baby steps, getting everything back to where it was, and just trying to tune everything up.”
For being the team’s leader, he added: “From the day I got here, I’ve felt like that. But even now it’s definitely more of a role, so it’s coming in every day, getting better, just bringing the whole team around and everybody getting better, and having the main goal. So, that is what we are going to try to do.”
