A new year has meant a new LaMelo Ball. The Charlotte Hornets' do-it-all point guard has developed a pragmatic approach to his game in 2025 that has paid dividends in the standings and on the stat sheet.

In this new trade idea, the Hornets make a deal to land a former first-overall pick to add to their young core. The deal would be between the Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Indiana Pacers, landing Deandre Ayton in Charlotte. After using the Spotrac trade machine, here is what a deal could look like between the teams:

Los Angeles is currently on a six-game win streak, playing in the second matchup of the run. They entered the game against Charlotte with a 25-18 record, ranked as the No. 5 team in the Western Conference standings. During the game, Hornets star LaMelo Ball suffered an injury that led to a locker room visit.

SportsLine's model has simulated the Charlotte Hornets vs. Los Angeles Lakers matchup 10,000 times and revealed its NBA picks for Monday

The Charlotte Hornets have already started trading this season by sending Nick Richards to the Phoenix Suns. They will likely be more active in the coming days

Charlotte, which has now won five of its past eight games, dominated against Zion Williamson and the Pelicans.

Anthony Davis had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the first quarter of the Lakers' game against the Hornets, making NBA history.

The Lakers are currently 9-12 on the road with a point differential of -1, while the Hornets have a 3-7 record in their last ten games at home.

The Hornets have also had some trouble defending inside the arc, where they allow opponents to shoot the ninth-highest 2-point percentage in the league (55.4%) and are prone to putting opponents on the line — allowing the 10th-most free throws per game (17.7).

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball left Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second quarter with a left ankle injury. The Hornets said he will not return to the game. Ball had just made a 3-pointer off one foot and was backpedaling down the court when he stepped on Jarred Vanderbilt’s foot and fell backward,

Charles Lee is the fourth-youngest head coach in the NBA. At 39-years-old, Lee is only older than Joe Mazzulla (Celtics), Will Hardy (Jazz), and Mark Daigneault (Thunder), four coaches who are some of the faces of the youth-movement sweeping across benches in the Assocation.