Steve Clifford believes Hornets must win to keep LaMelo Ball
Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford has come out with a fire. The head coach says that the Hornets need to start winning to keep their star point guard LaMelo Ball. Clifford also made comments on Ball’s competitive nature and how badly he wants to win.
“He badly wants to win,” Clifford said. “When you’re at his level, there are certain expectations. You’re going to be compared to the other point guards his age that have had not incredible playoff success but have had some. It’s important to his career.”
According to ESPN, Clifford said Ball takes losing harder than most players he’s seen. Clifford has gotten texts from Ball at night of him apologizing for poor play, saying: “Hey, my bad. I’m sorry, I should have done better.”
The Charlotte Hornets selected Ball with the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Since Ball was drafted, he hasn’t appeared in the playoffs. In fact, the Hornets haven’t been to the postseason in seven years, dating back to the 2015-16 season, the longest active streak in the NBA.
Ball’s uncertainty about his future with the Hornets:
Although the Hornets would like to keep their star point guard, Ball is uncertain about his future in Charlotte.
“I love it here,” said Ball, who is from California. “I can’t really tell the future. We’ll just see how it goes and go from there.”
When Ball is on the court, he has become one of the most electrifying and flashy players in the league. Ball averaged 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists on 41.1 percent shooting from the field. Ball will become a restricted free agent in the 2024 offseason, where ultimately the Hornets will make a decision of his future.
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