The Minnesota Timberwolves made their big swing for LaMelo Ball, and a week or so later the market made that move look even more expensive.
Minnesota paired Ball with Anthony Edwards and handed over a massive haul to get it done. The package included a first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps, three second-round picks, and Naz Reid. That is a heavy price for any player, even one with star appeal.
And Ball is a star. No one is saying otherwise.
He should fit alongside Edwards in Minnesota. But he comes with real flaws, too - injury concerns, shaky defense, and a habit of forcing bad shots.
The Wolves effectively pushed a huge chunk of their future into one bet on him.
Then the Philadelphia 76ers went out and got Jaylen Brown.
That deal came together for far less than Minnesota paid for Ball. The Sixers landed an All-NBA Second Team player who finished sixth in MVP voting for two first-rounders, two second-rounders, and George, a 36-year-old on one of the worst contracts in the NBA.
George had been a negative asset, and there was a reason Philadelphia had not moved him before that point. They likely would have needed to attach picks just to dump the deal.
That contrast is what stings for Minnesota. Brown is the kind of player who changes the conversation, and the price the Sixers paid only throws the Wolves’ Ball package into harsher light.
Reid also matters here. He’s one of the league’s better backup big men, and he should fit in well as the Charlotte Hornets’ starting power forward moving forward. He’s a strong player on a solid contract, which only adds to the sense that Minnesota gave up more than it had to.
It also raises the obvious question: what if the Wolves had waited on Julius Randle? Could they have moved him to the Brooklyn Nets, sent Reid to the Celtics, and gotten by with just one first-round pick and one swap to Boston?
Maybe that path would have made the Brown deal possible. At the very least, Minnesota would have more flexibility right now than it does after the Ball trade.
The Celtics had reportedly asked Minnesota for Rudy Gobert, Reid, and a pile of firsts, but the price they eventually accepted tells the story. Their asking price came down.
In Other News...
Mavericks Move May Have Just Opened Minnesotas Power Forward Door
Dallas decision to bring in Santi Aldama may have done more than add another frontcourt piece. It also nudged the Mavericks a little closer to a conversation that matters for Minnesota, where the Timberwolves are still trying to solve their power-forward spot and are watching the market for players who can hold up defensively while not disappearing on the other end.
P.J. Washington fits that broad description as well as almost anyone likely to surface in trade chatter, which is why his name keeps coming up around the Wolves. He brings the kind of matchup flexibility Minnesota covets, can punish smaller defenders, and still offers enough spacing to keep an offense from clogging, even in a season that has not gone as smoothly from outside. If Dallas is more willing to listen now, Minnesotas path to a deal could start taking shape quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves May Have Already Found Their Answer To The Naz Reid Void
Minnesotas bench is going to look different without Naz Reid, and the Timberwolves are already sorting through the options for replacing that kind of nightly punch. One name that keeps surfacing is Bones Hyland, who was brought back recently and gives the team a familiar, explosive guard who can provide offense in short bursts and help stabilize the second unit.
Hylands case is rooted in both fit and momentum. He turned into a more regular scoring presence off the bench as last season went on, and his growth has given Minnesota something to think about as it reshapes its rotation. Terrence Shannon Jr. brings a different kind of value and still needs the ball more, which leaves the door open for Hyland to slide into a role that demands instant production and a little more polish than the Wolves have had to ask from him before. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Fans Just Got The LaMelo Ball News They Feared
The offseason rumor mill has already turned into something closer to a full-blown roster shuffle, with the East in particular taking on a very different look. Boston has agreed to send Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George and draft picks, Nikola Vucevic is back with Orlando, and the Raptors and Heat are being tied to headline-grabbing returns and arrivals that would reshape the conference in a hurry.
For Minnesota, though, the most relevant part of the wave is the kind that changes the ceiling of a team overnight. LaMelo Ball is now headed to the Timberwolves, giving the franchise a new star-level name to slot into the conversation as the rest of the league keeps moving around him. The Hornets, naturally, are the ones left to absorb the loss, while Minnesota now has to sort out what comes next after landing the most eye-catching piece in the whole transaction frenzy. [Read more 🡒]