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NBA News: LaMelo Ball Breaks Silence on Massive $260 Million … – Wisconsin Sports Heroics
NBA news: No player in Charlotte Hornets franchise history has ever signed a max rookie contract extension. That all changed recently when LaMelo Ball put pen to paper on a massive $260 million extension that will see him remain in Charlotte for five more years. It was an undeniably impressive achievement from the 21-year-old, who has now become one of the highest-paid young stars in the league.
LaMelo Ball has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his three years in the NBA. He was actually having the best season of his young career this past season before it was brutally cut by another major injury. In 36 games played, the former No. 3 overall pick averaged 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and a career-best 8.4 assists, while also knocking down no less than 4.0 triples per game on a 37.6-percent clip.
Ball recently opened up about his new contract and the 6-foot-7 point guard revealed that it wasn’t a tough choice for him at all:
“The decision, it wasn’t really hard,” Ball said, via Rodericke Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “All my years here I’ve had a good time. Life wasn’t bad. The basketball aspect, that’s not really going well. You kind of want to live your life and just have fun and just be living well. So in Charlotte I was doing that, so it just all felt like a great choice.”
“The decision, it wasn’t really hard,” Ball said, via Rodericke Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “All my years here I’ve had a good time. Life wasn’t bad. The basketball aspect, that’s not really going well. You kind of want to live your life and just have fun and just be living well. So in Charlotte I was doing that, so it just all felt like a great choice.”
LaMelo admitted that he has left a lot to be desired in the basketball sense, and this is primarily because of all the injuries he’s had to endure over the past three years. In spite of this, however, the Hornets showed their unwavering loyalty to their cornerstone star by giving him the bag.
“To have a player of LaMelo’s caliber with his game, with his youth, we know he is going to get better as a player,” Hornets general manager and team president Mitch Kupchak said. “He’s here every day. He certainly had a setback last year, but in terms of healing, he’s been 100 percent healed and he’s been on the court working out every single day trying to get better.”
NBA news: How LaMelo Ball’s Contract Measures Up to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Deal
“To have a player of LaMelo’s caliber with his game, with his youth, we know he is going to get better as a player,” Hornets general manager and team president Mitch Kupchak said. “He’s here every day. He certainly had a setback last year, but in terms of healing, he’s been 100 percent healed and he’s been on the court working out every single day trying to get better.”
Much like LaMelo Ball, Giannis Antetokounmpo also holds the keys to the castle for the Milwaukee Bucks. However, Antetokounmpo’s rookie extension with the Bucks was a far cry from Ball’s new deal. Back in 2016, Giannis signed a four-year rookie extension worth $100 million. Times have obviously changed and the value of player contracts have spiked significantly, but that’s still less than one-third of Ball’s $256 million deal.
Antetokounmpo’s last contract, however, was a $228 million max five-year extension, which he signed in 2020. While this is still significantly smaller than LaMelo’s new deal, you also have to note that Giannis is eligible to sign another extension this summer. Reports indicate that that could come up to $173 million for three years or even $119 million for two years.
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A father of two over-energetic boys, Paolo is the new kid on the block for Wisconsin Sports Heroics. His passion lies in all things NBA and he has a knack for speaking his mind in his articles — even when at times it gets him into trouble with the fans. Controversial? Maybe. Excellent writer? Definitely.
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