Timberwolves Make Blockbuster Trade for LaMelo Ball

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LaMelo Ball - Charlotte Hornets at Minnesota Timberwolves
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Anthony Edwards and Minnesota Timberwolves president Tim Connelly tried to convince reporters earlier this week that they were satisfied rolling into the regular season with the core in place of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert.

About 24 hours later, Tim Connelly was already on the hunt for his next blockbuster trade. And this time, he was zeroing in on controversial Charlotte Hornets point guard, LaMelo Ball.

LaMelo Ball trade steam quickly heats into action

While there were other teams involved, including the Toronto Raptors (per Stein Line), “the team you are hearing about the most from people around the league is the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it’s no secret.”

“Well, the teams you are hearing about most from people around the league is the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it’s no secret. They’ve been star-hunting in the last handful of transaction cycles. They don’t have a lot of assets, in terms of future picks but they’ve been trying to find that co-star to pair with Anthony Edwards. There is definitely interest there. There are other teams involved, but again, the Timberwolves are the team you are hearing the most about.”

Tim McMahon – Get Up (ESPN)

The word on the NBA street is that the Charlotte Hornets are content moving forward with Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller as their core backcourt pieces.

They also traded for Kobe White at last year’s trade deadline and reportedly have concern over the ankle issues that limited Ball to 105 games played in three seasons between 2022-2025.

As the sun rose this morning, steam connecting the Wolves to Ball only intensified until just before 8:30 a.m., when it was reported as a done deal.

LaMelo Ball traded to Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota is sending out Naz Reid, their 2033 1st round pick (unprotected), three first round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030) and three second round picks (2029, 2032, 2033) to Charlotte, in exchange for LaMelo Ball Josh Green.

While Ball brings his own circus with him off the court, and brings with him the drama that is LaVar Ball, LaMelo is EXACTLY what the Wolves offense needs on the court.

Related: Wolves Assistant Hired as Blazers (Interim) Head Coach

During the course of his six-year NBA career, LaMelo Ball is averaging 20.8 points, 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game (303 games). He’s one of the best passers in basketball, and doubles as a volume shooter (17.5 attempts per game).

With LaMelo on the floor, defenses will NOT be able to shift all focus onto Ant, like they have been since Karl-Anthony Towns was traded, which reportedly frustrated Edwards during the MN Timberwolves’ past two playoff runs.

In the deal, they lose Naz Reid but keep Rudy Gobert. That is important because trading Gobert away in this deal would have raised a ton of questions about Minnesota’s defense next season and beyond.

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