Muggsy Bogues, the point guard who spent a decade in Charlotte and remains one of the franchise’s most beloved figures, isn’t sold on the deal that shipped LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to Minnesota for a package built around Naz Reid and draft capital. In comments captured in a clip posted to X, Bogues said the move “hurts my heart” and called it a risky one, noting that Ball had finally matured into his prime without ever having the right pieces around him in Charlotte.
Plenty of Hornets fans share that unease, even with the franchise set up well going forward. When Ball and Brandon Miller were both healthy, Charlotte played like a top-five team from January on, leading the league in offense and net rating while ranking fifth defensively. Rookies Kon Knueppel, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner were a big part of that stretch as the Hornets went 33-16 over the back half of the season.
The roster looks different now. Charlotte brought in Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Naz Reid, Christian Anderson Jr. and Hannes Steinbach, and it’s counting on another productive rookie class to help push past last year’s ninth-place finish in the East.
