Brandon Miller didn’t hide how much it stung to see LaMelo Ball leave Charlotte.
With Ball now headed to the Minnesota Timberwolves after an offseason trade, Miller said the move hit hard when he discussed it on the Road Trippin’ Show.
“It’s tough going through trade deadline this time,” Miller said. “Seeing your brothers [from] Day 1 gone, it hurts.
But I think we all know the NBA game. And I know he will be great in Minnesota, and what they have going on there.
Of course, he still has a lot to learn. I feel like everybody that’s that young has a lot to learn.
“So, just excited to see his growth,” Miller continued. “And that was the main thing I was excited for him last year was just his leadership growth. I feel like the media kind of had him looking crazy a lot of times.”
When co-host Channing Frye asked what he meant, Miller pointed to Ball’s reputation as a leader.
“He was looked at as not a good leader around that time,” Miller said.
Ball, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has long carried that label, and the trade only sharpened the debate around him. An NBA analyst had previously said the Hornets were getting rid of the bad influences and bringing in professionals after Ball and Miles Bridges were moved. There’s also been a steady belief that Ball doesn’t always treat the game with enough seriousness, fueled by the way he can be careless with the ball and force shots at times.
Still, Miller isn’t doubting what Ball can do in Minnesota. Ball posted 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game for Charlotte in 2025-26, helping spark a major turnaround. The Hornets went from 15-27 in mid-January to finishing 44-38.
That surge didn’t carry over into the postseason, though. Charlotte fell 121-90 to the Orlando Magic in its final play-in game and missed the playoffs. Even so, the season had created real optimism before the trade changed everything.
The return for Ball was Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029, and 2030, plus three second-round picks in 2029, 2032, and 2033. It wasn’t viewed as a strong haul.
Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson defended the move by saying the goal is bigger than simply reaching the play-in tournament. He called it a very difficult decision and acknowledged it would not sit well with a lot of fans, but said he believes it pushes the franchise in the right direction as Charlotte chases a championship someday.
For that to happen, Miller has to keep rising. The No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in 2025-26, a solid season by any measure. But now, with Miller and Kon Knuppel as two of the faces of the franchise, the expectations are only going up.
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Now in Chicago, Dillingham has gotten more run and shown better numbers, but the larger question still hangs over him: can he grow into a meaningful rotation guard, not just a spark in short bursts? For Minnesota fans who watched the early promise get bogged down, this upcoming season feels like the kind that could finally clarify whether his game can catch up to his pedigree, especially with his shooting and playmaking still very much under the microscope. [Read more 🡒]