The Timberwolves know exactly what they’re signing up for with LaMelo Ball, and the upside still makes the gamble worth it.
Matt Lloyd made that case earlier this month on the Flagrant Howls podcast, pushing back on the idea that Ball’s injury history should automatically be projected into Minnesota. “That would kind of put a negative spin on it,” Lloyd said. “We have to assume that we are going to get the version that they saw last year in the 72 games he played.”
That’s the optimistic read. The more honest one is that Ball’s medical history is impossible to ignore.
There’s a real chance he doesn’t come close to 72 games this season, and the Wolves will have to live with stretches where he’s unavailable or limited. That risk is baked into the move.
Still, Minnesota had good reason to go after him anyway.
Ball is 25, a one-time All-Star, and one of the league’s best passing point guards. He brings that kind of offensive brain in a 6’7” frame, which is a rare combination even before you get to the age piece.
Players who can run an offense like that while still being 26 or younger are hard to find. Cade Cunningham and Tyrese Haliburton fit the mold, and in Lloyd’s view they’re like NFL quarterbacks: if you have one, you build around him.
Charlotte didn’t see Ball that way, at least not anymore. The Hornets sent him out for Naz Reid, a first-round pick in 2033, three first-round pick swaps, and three second-round pick swaps.
That came after Charlotte finished the regular season on a hot streak and reached the Play-In Tournament for the first time since Ball’s sophomore 2021-22 season. During that run, he kept the offense moving at a consistently competitive level.
So it’s fair to ask why the Hornets moved on. Maybe the injuries mattered most. Maybe they simply thought the roster around him made him more replaceable than a player of his talent usually is.
Minnesota clearly disagreed. The Wolves are betting that Ball is their offensive driver, their version of that franchise quarterback. They’re also betting that his health holds up better than his history suggests.
And if it doesn’t, they believe they can absorb it.
“If he does face injuries, we are lucky enough to have Ayo [Dosunmu] and Anthony [Edwards],” Lloyd said on the Flagrant Howls podcast. “We are lucky to have Jonathan Kuminga and Jaden [McDaniels]. We have layers of players we can go to compensate for that.”
Dosunmu isn’t Ball as a pure point guard, but he can start and shoulder a meaningful offensive load. His scoring gives Minnesota a cushion if Ball misses extended time. Chris Finch will still feel the loss of a true point guard, just as the Wolves did last season, but the roster has enough scoring elsewhere to make it through short absences.
That’s the balance here. If Ball stays healthy, Minnesota gets the version of him that can lift the whole operation, including the 20-plus postseason games it would take to win a championship. If he doesn’t, this could turn into a season defined by injuries and second-guessing.
With the season less than two months away, the concern is real. But so is the payoff.
Ball’s talent, especially at his age, doesn’t often hit the trade market. When it did, the Wolves took the swing.
In Other News...
Chris Finch Sees One Clear Path To Unlock LaMelo Ball In Minnesota
LaMelo Balls appeal has always been obvious to evaluators who value creativity and pace, and Chris Finch sees the same thing from a Minnesota vantage point. The Timberwolves coach pointed to the guards shot selection and finishing as the clearest areas for growth, noting that Ball can get comfortable living on difficult looks he is talented enough to convert, even if those attempts do not always serve the offense as well as they could.
Finch also flagged a subtler issue near the rim, where Balls elite playmaking instincts can sometimes shape the way he attacks the paint. Instead of closing possessions like a scorer, he can drift toward a passing mindset, and that can leave easy points on the table. For a Wolves team looking to maximize every edge, the question is not whether Ball has the skill to fit, but how much sharper he can become with the right emphasis. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls' Kuminga Miss Reveals A Bigger Plan For Their Young Wings
The Bulls spent part of the offseason chasing restricted free agents Bennedict Mathurin and Jonathan Kuminga, but neither pursuit ended in Chicagos favor. Mathurin landed with the New Orleans Pelicans, while Kuminga ultimately chose a two-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, giving the Wolves a notable addition to their young wing mix at a time when they were looking to keep building around athletic, versatile perimeter talent.
Chicagos pitch apparently never got to the point of securing Kuminga, and the gap in how each team framed his opportunity mattered. Reports indicated the Bulls were not willing to guarantee him a major role, while Minnesota was prepared to offer more responsibility right away, a detail that helps explain why the Wolves won out in a market where usage and playing time can be just as important as money. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Just Got A Real Opening In The West
Minnesota spent the offseason making a bold bet of its own, reshaping the frontcourt by dealing Julius Randle and Naz Reid to land LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga. It was a move that signaled urgency as much as ambition, because the Timberwolves clearly saw a Western Conference that could be in flux rather than frozen in place.
Oklahoma City, Denver and Los Angeles all look different now, too, and not necessarily in ways that inspire the same level of certainty they carried in past springs. The Thunder have leaned into cap-driven changes, the Nuggets have watched key championship pieces peel away while managing the books, and the Lakers have also undergone major turnover, including the departure of LeBron James, leaving Minnesota with a path that feels more open than it did a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]