Gordon Hayward Shares First Impression Of New Teammate LaMelo Ball

The final week and a half of November proved to be plenty exciting for the Charlotte Hornets.

The Hornets added a potential elite playmaker in the 2020 NBA Draft when they selected LaMelo Ball with the third overall pick. Three days later, Gordon Hayward agreed to take his talents to Charlotte, a move that since has been completed via a sign-and-trade with the Boston Celtics.

Hayward on Tuesday met with Charlotte media for the first time since the deal was finalized. In addition to revealing why he left the Celtics for the Hornets, Hayward also offered his first impression of Ball.

“He’s taller than I expected,” Hayward said. “I didn’t realize he was as tall as he was. I’m excited about playing with him. He seems like someone that can really play-make for others and really get others involved, as well as score for himself. But he seems like he has a natural feel for the game, can do a little bit of everything. Like I said, the height really helps with that. He’ll be able to see over the defense and have that vision.”

Hayward is expected to have more of a feature role in Charlotte than he had in Boston. In turn, we probably can expect Ball to frequently be looking Hayward’s way any time he’s running the Hornets’ offense.