LaMelo Ball may be incredibly talented, but he's one star player that the Miami Heat should look to avoid at all costs. As the Heat continue to look for a star player that could transform the franchise, they should look somewhere else. Ball, with all due respect, is not the star player that the Heat should be looking to add or the one they need.
After another slow start to the year, it's been reported that Ball is open to a trade away from the Charlotte Hornets. Quite frankly, assuming this is the case, there's not much that would tell me that the Hornets wouldn't be open to such a deal either.
If the right situation did arise, this is a move that could end up making sense for both sides. The Hornets are nowhere near contention with Ball, and Ball could very much benefit from a fresh start at this point in his career.
Whether both sides will achieve that remains to be seen, but the expectation is that the noise surrounding this possibility is only going to rise over the next couple of weeks, if not months.
The Heat could make sense for LaMelo Ball
Naturally, the Heat are going to be considered a possible landing spot. In theory, they do fit the description of a team that should be interested. The Heat don't necessarily have their point guard of the future (sorry, Davion Mitchell), and could use a playmaker like Ball.
For all his faults, Ball is an entertaining basketball player and does carry star power. Even before we know if the front office would be interested at all, it's no surprise that Miami is going to be listed as a suitor for Ball.
LaMelo Ball is not what the Heat need
But, unfortunately, Ball is not the star player that the Heat should be willing to go all-in on. I suppose this conversation is different if they'd only have to pay pennies on the dollar for Ball, but we don't have that knowledge yet.
However, if we're talking about the Heat having to give up a young player or two, a salary filler, and then a couple of picks, this is not a path the team should go down.
For all his dynamics on the offensive end of the floor, there are two very big reasons why Ball is the type of star player the Heat should avoid.
For one, even though it doesn't get talked about much, his injury history is concerning. Ball has only played 60 games once in the first five years of his career and has missed a combined 141 regular-season games over the last three seasons. He's also already missed six this year.
But even beyond that, Ball is not a complete player at this point in his career. That, more than anything, should give the Heat real pause.
On most occasions, I'd generally push the Heat to make a move for the talented star player. However, Ball is unproven, a one-side of the court star player, and has a ton of injury concerns.
The Heat may be desperate to add a star player, but Ball is not the one they should be looking to add.