The Charlotte Hornets have kept themselves somewhat in the spotlight relative to their norm as the NBA Playoffs transition to the conference finals. Some of the news good, some bad, and some is just news. We’ll get the painful one out of the way first

LAMELO BALL AND THE HORNETS ARE BEING SUED

LaMelo Ball and the Hornets organization are being sued for $25,000 regarding an incident that happened at the Hornets Purple and Teal day prior to the season. Apparently a kid was trying to get LaMelo Ball’s autograph while Ball was in his car at a traffic light. According to the complaint, Ball “accelerated his vehicle forward suddenly and without warning” and struck the 11-year-old. The suit is seeking mental and physical damages relating to severe pain from foot and back injuries. The original police report cited minor bruising and scratching.

I’m of two minds here. One, you should not be sending your 11 year old child to a vehicle that’s on the road and attempting to drive away. I don’t care if it’s their favorite player. That’s simply a dangerous situation to put yourself in. We as a society need to be better about how we approach athletes in public.

On the other hand, it’s the latest in a series of lawsuits that the soon-to-be fifth year guard as been embroiled in over the past few years. In 2022, he was sued by his former publicist for allegedly not paying her money she was owed for landing endorsement deals. In late 2023, LaMelo was named in a lawsuit against his family by a Big Baller Brand cofounder for essentially cutting him out of the business. It’s a worrying trend for a player that dazzles when he’s on the court but has spent much more time off it than on it in recent seasons. As the franchise transitions to its new era, Ball finds himself at a crossroads where he needs to find a way to stay healthy and out of the news for the wrong reasons.

THE HORNETS HAVE ADDED CHRIS JENT TO THEIR COACHING STAFF

New head coach Charles Lee continues to build out his staff, this time adding former Lakers assistant Chris Jent to his staff. He had a relatively long playing career that sent him around the world and included a couple of cups of coffee in the NBA. He’s been an assistant in the NBA since 2003. He spent his last two seasons with the Lakers and spent the prior five with the Atlanta Hawks, where he overlapped with Lee for a couple of seasons.

KENDRICK PERKINS FORGOT WHO BRANDON MILLER IS, OR SOMETHING

Brandon Miller was named a First Team All Rookie the other day, but he was not a unanimous selection. ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins left the Hornets rookie off his ballot completely. His ballot included four of the five first teamers with Dereck Lively II taking Miller’s spot as the fifth first teamer. His second team consisted of the Thompson twins, Keyonte George, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Gradey Dick (???). Perkins is no stranger to weird opinions, and given he and ESPN’s track record of fixation on select segments of the league, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Perkins simply forgot or didn’t know Brandon Miller existed when filling out his ballot.

BONZI WELLS THINKS BRANDON MILLER NEEDS TO GET OUT OF CHARLOTTE

Speaking of Brandon Miller, this former NBA player knows who he is and thinks that Miller can’t be left to “rot in a bad situation” in Charlotte. It’s a kind of fair take given the recent history of the organization, but I’d like it if people would at least give the new direction a chance before lumping them in as a continuation of the failures of the previous regime. But similar to the Perkins takes above, I don’t expect that many outsiders pay enough attention to actually know what’s happening in Charlotte.