Bill Simmons REALLY Hates LaMelo Ball Trade for Timberwolves

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New Minnesota Timberwolves guard LaMelo Ball - Playoffs-Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly swung for the fences again last week, pulling off the surprise blockbuster trade of the offseason so far.

In the deal, Minnesota sent Naz Reid, a 2033 first round pick, plus a bunch of second round picks and pick swaps to Charlotte in exchange for LaMelo Ball. No doubt it was gutsy, but was it smart?

Some believe Connelly still has moves up his sleeve. Others are worried he is out of assets and just lit his last blockbuster deal on fire. Of course, only time will tell us the real answer. And until then, Minnesota’s future outlook depends on who you ask.

Bill Simmons REALLY hates Timberwolves’ future with LaMelo Ball

For example, if you are a Minnesota Timberwolves fan looking for analysis with more of a positive spin toward your favorite basketball team, you may want to steer clear of anything Bill Simmons for a while.

This weekend on the “Bill Simmons Show“, the extremely popular NBA voice gave Charlotte an A or A- grade on the LaMelo trade. The Wolves, meanwhile, got an F… which stands for “Fu***ng hates it.” Like… a lot.

Simmons believes the trade is a gross overreaction by Minnesota, to their loss against the San Antonio Spurs during the playoffs. He even goes on to say that, if he is right, Anthony Edwards will leave because of it… and maybe Tim Connelly too.

“I couldn’t believe the trade for Minnesota. I fu***ng hated it. I hated it. I just couldn’t believe it. I wrote down some notes. You do this trade if you want to become the most beloved NBA team with under 25 y/o fans who play video games and are online a lot. It’s a 2K merchandise-selling trade.”

“I just don’t trust LaMelo at all. And if [the Timberwolves are] wrong, Ant’s leaving. And by the way, Tim Connelly might be leaving too. He’s got a year left on his deal. And if I’m Tim Connelly, I’m cool making this trade ’cause if it doesn’t work out, I’m seeing you guys anyway, I’m gonna be out. He’s got a year left on his deal.”

Bill Simmons – Bill Simmons Podcast (Netflix)

If you didn’t watch the video, and just read what I transcribed above, you might think Simmons is a massive LaMelo Ball hater.

And you would be right, which is important to remember before we go any further. But if you haven’t rage-quit this article yet, I recommend you watch/listen to the entire segment from Sunday’s episode of the Bill Simmons Show.

Per usual, especially when it comes to a longform podcast, I can’t possibly portray all of the relevant information in one article. And there was a lot that Simmons had to say on the topic.

LaMelo Ball too weak for Championship run?

While Bill’s personal bias against LaMelo is noteworthy, he’s watched a lot of Hornets games and there’s no doubt his logic is sound. On paper, the former ESPN and Boston Globe reporter says it might look like LaMelo will take pressure off Anthony Edwards offensively.

But in reality, this is a hail mary attempt by Minnesota’s front office that is doomed to fail, mostly because “he doesn’t fu***ng play”, notes Simmons, who believes Ball is too weak to be a key piece on a championship roster — not just physically, but mentally too.

So this to me feels like a hail Mary trade that your fans are gonna like, ’cause Lamelo is the best player in it. The Charlotte fans are mad ’cause they love LaMelo. LaMelo doesn’t fu***ng play. I wrote down, he’s the least durable good guard of the last 25 years.

Six seasons, 9,400 minutes, zero playoff games — which puts him on this crazy list of guys who have averaged 20 points a game in their first six seasons, but have played less than 10,000 minutes. And it’s basically just him, Ja Morant, Zion and that’s it. He’s not reliable.

I think he has metal in his ankle. Like he, this is not like, oh, Steph Curry had ankle injuries too. La Mel’s injuries are way worse than Steph Curry’s were. And I just wouldn’t have bet on it. I thought this was a crazy trade.”

“We have zero, I repeat zero evidence that Lamella Ball can hold up for one playoff series with his Hoops IQ or the physicality of a playoff series, much less for what Minnesota’s trying to do with a trade like this when four playoff rounds or at least three to get to the finals.”

Bill Simmons – Bill Simmons Podcast (Netflix)

There are a lot of questions surrounding what Connelly has done to Minnesota’s roster since being hired back in May of 2022, especially after Karl-Anthony Towns won an NBA Championship this season and the Wolves have nothing to show for it but a Julius Randle salary dump and a refusal to trade Donte DiVincenzo.

One thing you cannot question when it comes to ole’ Timmy Boy… is that he is absolutely fearless. Not only does is this the latest in a string of blockbuster moves to try and push the MN Timberwolves roster over the top, but it is far and away the riskiest.

Tim Connelly chasing his tail?

Connelly was running low on tradable assets even before the LaMelo Ball deal. Now, Minnesota’s PoBO is completely out of future draft picks to which he can trade, and unless he changes his stance on DiVincenzo or Joan Beringer, they have little to offer in NBA-ready talent.

NBA insider Zach Lowe, who was on the show with Simmons, followed up Simmons’ criticisms by saying that there is a feeling around the league a little bit that Minnesota is chasing it’s tail a little bit, from a money standpoint… just like Dallas.

“There is this sort of like drip, drip, drip trickle down effect of Minnesota transactions, kind of chasing their own tail a little bit, similar to how Dallas had to chase its own tail… There’s like a little element of that.

‘We traded everything for Gobert. We’re a little asset poor and now we’re really expensive. We’re probably gonna have to trade Towns — we trade Towns — okay, that didn’t really work. Now we have to do something else.’ So there’s a little bit of element of like chasing their tail a bit.”

The other drip drip drip thing I neglected to mention in the drip, drip drip of assets is the Dillingham pick not working out… They had to throw picks and they’re chasing, not just mistakes, ’cause I don’t know if the Rudy trade can be classified as a mistake anymore, but it’s like a bettor that is losing and keeps chasing and keeps spending more to try and get even.”

Zach Lowe – Bill Simmons Podcast (Netflix)
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