The LaMelo Ball trade is looking a whole lot better in Minnesota than it does in Charlotte right now.
The Timberwolves are settling in offensively, and they’ve managed to do it without Anthony Edwards in the mix. That’s because Ball has given them exactly what he’s known for: a steady stream of quality offense creation. Even when his shot isn’t falling, he keeps the whole machine moving.
Charlotte, on the other hand, is stuck at the bottom of the league in offensive rating. Dead last.
Injuries have been part of the story, sure, but the problems haven’t gone away even with players back in the lineup. The Hornets were supposed to be an elite shooting team.
Instead, they’re hitting just 29.6 percent from 3-point range.
That’s a brutal look for a team that just moved on from the player who powered its best stretch in years. After the calendar flipped, Charlotte had the NBA’s top offense, and Ball was the engine behind it.
He made the group better across the board, which is why the decision to trade him always felt strange. Maybe the Hornets were trying to sell high.
Maybe they worried about his health or whether the success would carry into the playoffs. Whatever the thinking was, the move seems to have badly underestimated how central he was to everything they were doing.
The fallout has been clear. Brandon Miller has put up a career-high 22 points per game, but the volume hasn’t come with efficiency.
He’s shooting 35.9 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from 3. Without Ball, the production has been there in flashes, but the efficiency has been rough.
Naz Reid, the player Charlotte got back from Minnesota, has had a similarly uneven run. He just posted his best game of the season with 28 points in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets, but the bigger picture hasn’t been pretty.
He’s been inconsistent, inefficient, and even got benched by Charles Lee in one game for not meeting standards. Reid is shooting 42.3 percent, the lowest mark of his career since his rookie year.
From Minnesota’s side, the deal is starting to look like a steal. There’s often a tendency to overstate the draft haul in these kinds of trades, but the Wolves’ package was Reid, one unprotected first-round pick in 2033, three first-round pick swaps that won’t convey, and some second-rounders.
What Ball has done with the Wolves has been immediate. He’s changed the offense the moment he arrived, and his playmaking has created cleaner looks for everyone around him.
That’s a big reason Ayo Dosunmu, Jaden McDaniels, and Jonathan Kuminga are all putting together career-best seasons so far. They’re talented players, but Ball has made life easier for all of them.
That matters even more with Edwards out. If Minnesota had simply run back last season’s roster, the injury could have left them in trouble.
Instead, this version of the team still gives them a chance to win every night without him. They just beat the Rockets and handed them their second loss of the season.
On behalf of the Wolves community, thank you to the Hornets for agreeing to this trade.
In Other News...
Pelicans Injury Report Could Change Minnesotas Next Test
The Timberwolves next matchup could look a little different depending on how New Orleans sorts through its injury report. The Pelicans have already listed Trey Murphy III as day-to-day with a patellar injury, while Yves Missi is out with a knee injury, two absences that could affect how the game is played on both ends when Minnesota gets back on the floor.
For a Wolves team trying to keep its own rhythm against a Western Conference opponent, the availability of key Pelicans pieces matters more than just the names on the report. New Orleans still has enough talent to make this a useful test, but the uncertainty around Murphy and the absence of Missi add another layer to a game Minnesota will be watching closely before tipoff. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Edwards Return Could Change Everything For Timberwolves Contention
Ayo Dosunmu took a moment to speak directly to Timberwolves fans, and his message centered on the kind of edge Anthony Edwards brings every time he steps on the floor. Dosunmu praised Edwards for his trash-talking and competitive fire, saying the star guard carries himself like the sort of player who can tilt a game just by being in it. He also pointed to the intensity Edwards shows in practice, a reminder that the Wolves tone often starts long before tipoff.
With Edwards working his way back from knee surgery, the conversation in Minnesota is less about what the team is right now and more about what it could become once he returns. Dosunmus note was essentially a vote of confidence in the Wolves ceiling, with Edwards presence viewed as the kind of addition that can change the way opponents have to prepare. For a team trying to keep its contention window open, that kind of optimism carries real weight. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Defense Is Giving This Team A Real Title Case
The early-season case for Minnesota has been built less on flash than on resistance. Through nine games, the Timberwolves have stayed near the top of the league in defensive rating, and the groups identity is already looking familiar: Rudy Gobert anchoring the paint, Jaden McDaniels hounding wings, and a supporting cast that has kept opponents from getting comfortable. It is the kind of foundation that travels, and it showed up again in a recent win over Houston, a game that asked Minnesota to deal with one of the better offenses in the league.
What stood out in that matchup was how little the Rockets were allowed to breathe. Minnesotas length and discipline made every possession feel crowded, and the Wolves were able to keep the game on their terms against a team that had been rolling. For a roster still sorting out its broader ceiling, that kind of defensive consistency is the clearest sign that the floor is high, and maybe even higher than some expected this early. [Read more 🡒]