LaMelo Ball secures the wealth of his generations…and then some.
The star guard is finalizing a five-year, maximum contract extension with the Charlotte Hornets, Shams Al Sharania was mentioned by The Athletic on Saturday. The new ballpark extension will be worth $260 million (seatbelts installed?)
For Ball, the 21-year-old Hornets cornerback, the deal is on par with the maximum rookie range extension that teammate Tyrese Haliburton received for 2020 from the Indiana Pacers (five years and up to $260 million, too).
An average annual worth of around $50 million is really rarefied air. In the entire NBA, only Steve Curry will make that much money next season (although players like Nikola Jokic, Bradley Bell and Joel Embiid will join the $50 million-a-year club over the next couple of years).
Ball, the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021 as well as the NBA All-Star in 2022, clearly has a very long way to go with these players. But Ball is already a 23-6-8 guy who seems poised to be Charlotte’s alpha dog for years to come. Meanwhile, the Hornets are a non-free agent destination in a small market, so the right call to action is really to push and secure the exciting young franchise player during his 26-year-old season.