After shutting down Hornets trade rumors, LaMelo Ball’s name is circling the trade winds again, and Charlotte suddenly feels like a team running out of excuses. The team hasn’t touched postseason basketball since 2016, and their stalled rebuild is starting to look like a loop they can’t escape. When your franchise star is shooting 39.3 percent from the field and coughing up turnovers at his highest rate since 2021-22, the tension doesn’t stay quiet for long.

And here’s where things get louder. League insiders reported on November 27 that executives are openly questioning whether Ball wants a new setting or if the Hornets simply need one. Either way, front offices see a window. Washington, a team knee-deep in its own reboot, is the newest suitor stepping into the limelight.

The proposed f

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