Rudy Gobert doesn’t need much convincing about what LaMelo Ball brings to the Minnesota Timberwolves. At media day, Gobert made it clear he sees Ball as the kind of playmaker who can lift the entire offense, and that includes making life a lot easier for Gobert himself.
That part matters. For all of Gobert’s value around the rim, the Timberwolves have too often treated him like an afterthought on offense during his four years with the team.
The result has shown up in the numbers. Minnesota’s offense has been better with Gobert on the floor in only one of those four seasons, and even then by just 0.4 points per 100 possessions.
Last season was worse, with the Wolves scoring 8.4 points per 100 possessions fewer when Gobert played.
That kind of imbalance creates problems everywhere else. When a defender can ignore Gobert at times, it becomes easier to load up on Anthony Edwards. And when the Wolves haven’t had a true playmaker to keep the offense organized, those issues have only grown.
Ball changes that equation.
He’s a gifted passer who can deliver lobs with real touch, and he has the kind of floor-general instincts that should keep Gobert involved instead of drifting to the margins. That’s not a small detail.
Gobert’s hands have frustrated at times, but when he does catch the ball, the payoff is usually there. He led the league in field goal percentage last season, and his best offensive trait remains his rim running.
In fact, 43 percent of his field goals were dunks last season, and that came without a traditional lob passer feeding him.
Ball should raise that ceiling. His impact as a creator is already backed by what he did in Charlotte with similar centers, Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Diabate’s true shooting percentage was 8.1 percent higher with Ball on the court, according to Databallr. Ball also ranked in the 98th percentile for playmaking talent according to Basketball Index.
And the ripple effect goes beyond Gobert. Ball should help free Edwards, ease some of the ball-handling burden, help Minnesota play faster, and steady the offense overall.
Gobert’s point was simple: Ball makes everybody around him better. The biggest reason that matters in Minnesota is that it could finally unlock Gobert too.
In Other News...
Jonathan Kuminga Has A Real Chance To Earn His Wolves Future
Jonathan Kuminga arrived in Minnesota this offseason with a fresh start and a clear message: he wants to fit into a winning structure, not just fill a box score. For a Timberwolves team that has built its identity on effort, length and accountability, that mindset matters as much as any raw talent he brings. The next step is turning that promise into a nightly role that blends with what the Wolves already do well.
Kuminga is also on a one-plus-one deal, which gives this season a little extra weight even if the focus remains on the present. If he can establish himself as more than a scorer and show he can help in multiple ways, Minnesota could have a real decision to make when the contract picture comes back into view next offseason. For now, though, the opportunity is straightforward: play well, fit in and make it hard for the Wolves to imagine life without him. [Read more 🡒]
Tim Connelly Leaves A Big Timberwolves Question Hanging Over Opening Night
Media day in Minnesota brought the usual early-season optimism, with president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, coach Chris Finch and players all talking about a group that believes it can keep building on what it already has. Connelly said he is happy with the Timberwolves and focused on winning, but the broader backdrop around the team is hard to miss after the recent ownership changes and the questions they tend to bring with them.
Connelly also left one of the biggest questions untouched as opening night approaches. He has less than a year left on his contract and did not offer any long-term commitment to the Wolves, which naturally keeps attention on his future as much as on the roster. And because he has drawn interest for other top front-office jobs before, including in Washington and Dallas, the silence is likely to linger until there is something more concrete to read into. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Finch Is Trying To Fix A Timberwolves Problem Fast
Minnesota entered camp with a noticeably different look, and Chris Finch is treating that turnover as more than a simple personnel update. The Timberwolves added LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga while moving on from several veteran pieces, a change that puts even more emphasis on how quickly the group can build its identity. Finch has been clear that training camp is the place to lay down the fundamentals and set the expectations for a roster that will need to learn on the fly.
The urgency comes from where last season left things. The Wolves had stretches that looked playoff-ready and made real noise in the postseason, but their regular-season engagement and consistency against elite teams were harder to trust. Finch acknowledged the problem in plain terms, saying last years group did not always keep its edge, and now the challenge is getting this version locked in before the same drift shows up again. [Read more 🡒]