The Charlotte Hornets and LaMelo Ball are finalizing a five-year maximum contract extension that will pay him up to $260M, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Hornets have finally made a move this summer, and it’s easily the most important move they could make. Ball became eligible for his rookie-scale max extension when the clock struck midnight, and it only took 15 hours or so to hammer out the details. The AAV comes in at a crisp $52M, making Ball the highest-paid player on the team by a wide margin come the 2024-25 season.