LaMelo Ball looked like the franchise player the Charlotte Hornets desperately needed at the start of his career. An All-Star season at age-20 and flashes of elite shot-making and playmaking positioned Ball as one of the NBA’s brightest young players,

“Following the Hornets’ disappointing road loss to the 2-13 Indiana Pacers — their fourth straight, dropping Charlotte to 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 4-11 record — star guard LaMelo Ball has...