Surprise! Kon looks really bad!

[frankw]

We shouldn't "want" to trade LaMelo. It's basically in his hands. My view of the situation is the Hornets are basically letting LaMelo control his own destiny this season. He will either dial in and do everything he needs to do in order to stay on the basketball court and help this team compete for the playoffs. Or he will run it back with the same old same old and they will give the young guys the keys.

[Little Goody Two Shoes]

2 hours ago, Shocker said:

Lamelo is a superstar and the face of the franchise.  No way am I trading him

Yay, the face is always on the bench in street clothes. 

[PanthersNCSU]

On 7/25/2025 at 5:17 PM, Shocker said:

Lamelo is a superstar and the face of the franchise.  No way am I trading him

410 possible games, he's played 231 of 'em. 56% of his games. 

Won rookie of the year, but he's been surpassed by the two guys he beat out.

Never been All-Anything but rookie team. 

He's a name because of the internet, but superstar? I mean, he's barely a star. Top 50 player for sure, but that's about it right now. 

[frankw]

3 hours ago, PanthersNCSU said:

410 possible games, he's played 231 of 'em. 56% of his games. 

Won rookie of the year, but he's been surpassed by the two guys he beat out.

Never been All-Anything but rookie team. 

He's a name because of the internet, but superstar? I mean, he's barely a star. Top 50 player for sure, but that's about it right now. 

I wish I could disagree. But seeing the way his family carries themselves translating over to him over these years I have a hard time seeing LaMelo turning a full 180 this season and becoming a focused and resilient basketball player locked in on leading this team to the playoffs.

His brother LiAngelo flamed out of the G League and is now an aspiring rapper and honestly looks like a complete clown. Doesn't bode well for LaMelo.

[PanthersNCSU]

14 hours ago, frankw said:

I wish I could disagree. But seeing the way his family carries themselves translating over to him over these years I have a hard time seeing LaMelo turning a full 180 this season and becoming a focused and resilient basketball player locked in on leading this team to the playoffs.

His brother LiAngelo flamed out of the G League and is now an aspiring rapper and honestly looks like a complete clown. Doesn't bode well for LaMelo.

I think the family has calmed down (they had to, obviously), and Lavar has done the 180 and disappeared enough. But...I think it messed LaMelo up in the worst way of all the kids, as it would anybody. He was a high school/internet superstar before doing anything. He was a kid celebrity essentially who thought he had already made it. 

I think LaMelo's basketball brain is absolutely unique and special. But the injuries, the family dynamic, the fame, and frankly being on bad teams for years has ruined him as a basketball player IMO. I hope he does go on to be a star because he's one of the most exciting players in the world to watch when he's rolling...I just don't think he's ever living up to that. 

Best case for the Hornets future, and his, is to trade him to a contender. He's your 2nd or 3rd best player on a good team, and a good vet star being "above" him would do wonders for him I think. 

[frankw]

On 8/9/2025 at 8:07 AM, PanthersNCSU said:

I think the family has calmed down (they had to, obviously), and Lavar has done the 180 and disappeared enough. But...I think it messed LaMelo up in the worst way of all the kids, as it would anybody. He was a high school/internet superstar before doing anything. He was a kid celebrity essentially who thought he had already made it. 

I think LaMelo's basketball brain is absolutely unique and special. But the injuries, the family dynamic, the fame, and frankly being on bad teams for years has ruined him as a basketball player IMO. I hope he does go on to be a star because he's one of the most exciting players in the world to watch when he's rolling...I just don't think he's ever living up to that. 

Best case for the Hornets future, and his, is to trade him to a contender. He's your 2nd or 3rd best player on a good team, and a good vet star being "above" him would do wonders for him I think. 

I do agree he has a quality basketball IQ. He also has the prerequisite talent in spades. The issue is and you can see this with his brother Lonzo. They just aren't motivated to get on the court. It's not that they don't play hard or that they aren't competitive. They just don't seem to have much if any drive to get to the mountain top which is a playoff run and competing for a championship. Just the experience of playing and making a boatload of money seems to be enough. That's never going to be a player you can build around. Like you say that's your second or third best player on a playoff team. But not the singular core guy everyone else looks to.