Ryen Russillo isn’t bullish on Charlotte’s future.

Feb 7, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA;Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) brings the ball up court against the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Charlotte Hornets may be struggling this season, but they still have two players who average over 20 points per game this season and are under 24 years old.

They also have a player who’s under 24 and nearly averages a double-double, so there are some young, interesting pieces to rebuild around.

However, NBA insider Ryen Russillo doesn’t think Charlotte is in a good place with regard to their future. In fact, he was asked which team was in the worst spot in the entire NBA, and Russillo quickly named the Hornets.

On Pardon My Take, he said, “I think Charlotte’s actually in a pretty bad spot even though they’ve done a good job of- they’ve got to make a LaMelo decision.

I looked it up the other day, his shots per 100 is the highest we’ve seen since Kobe Bryant’s in 2006… He’s the number one fan voting.

If I were to ever get in an argument with somebody who’s a Hornets fan, I’d be like, ‘Do your parents know you have a phone?’”

That last random shot at Hornets fans aside, Russillo is keying in on what the Hornets might do with LaMelo Ball.

The attempted trade of Mark Williams says that the new regime in Charlotte is not beholden to what the former executives did, and that might include drafting and then extending Ball.

Williams is a talented, young, injury-prone player. Those descriptors also apply to Ball, and he’s on a costly extension. There’s no indication that the Hornets want to trade him, but Russillo believes a decision has to be made.

He takes issue with how often Ball shoots the basketball compared to his teammates and his peers. However, the lineups Ball has been working with this year have not exactly had a ton of other shooters.

The starting five, which is Ball, Brandon Miller, Josh Green, Miles Bridges, and Williams, have only 77 minutes together, and there is one other primary shooter on the floor in Miller.

Ball’s next most common lineup brings in Grant Williams, who is not a shooter.

Feb 7, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) shoots a jumper over San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Another common lineup involves Nick Smith Jr., who is shooting barely over 40% from the floor. Moussa Diabate is a frequent lineup mate of Ball’s, and he is far from a shooter or even a scorer.

Ball is, per the data, often out there with players who don’t create their own shot. Shots have to be taken, and Ball ends up taking the majority of them.

Whether or not that’s what the Hornets can be successful with remains to be seen. Media members like Russillo don’t think they can, and it’s unclear how Jeff Peterson and company see things.