Lamelo Ball trade winners and losers: Minnesota Timberwolves get star running mate for Anthony Edwards

This was no Giannis Antetokounmpo “let’s drag this out over months and years” situation — discussions of LaMelo Ball being available in a trade popped up after the second round of the NBA Draft Wednesday night, and by Thursday morning, the deal was done.

It’s a big swing by both teams, but who were the winners and losers from this massive trade? Let’s break it down, but first is a reminder of exactly what this trade looks like:

Advertisement

Minnesota receives: LaMelo Ball, Josh Green
Charlotte receives: Naz Reid, 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030), three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033)

Winner: Minnesota’s potential upside

Minnesota president Tim Connelly and the entire organization stepped back and made an honest assessment of the past three seasons: This is a good team. Just not good enough. They made two Western Conference Finals and have a superstar entering his prime in Anthony Edwards, but they also see Oklahoma City and San Antonio and realized their team, as constructed, had reached its ceiling.

So they swung for the fences.

Advertisement

Julius Randle and Naz Reid are gone (as was Nickeil Alexander-Walker a year before them), and in comes LaMelo Ball and his dynamic offensive game. Minnesota has shifted philosophy from a defensive team with hopefully enough offense to an offensive team with hopefully enough defense.

The potential upside of having Anthony Edwards and Ball share the offensive load is obvious — this could be one of the most entertaining and potent offensive teams in the league. Ball has become an offense unto himself, one of the on-off gods ine. If one thing is sure, these Timberwolves are going to be a highlight factory and a League Pass favorite.

For the past couple of years, Minnesota has clearly needed another shot creator to play with Edwards. Now with Ball and just re-signed Ayo Dosunmu, it has two guys next to him who can score from all three levels. Minnesota is now running its offense through two good and one elite passers, three forces in transition, and with a little more shooting around them this will be nearly an impossible…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lamelo-ball-trade-winners-losers-230755061.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-06-25 23:07:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.