The Timberwolves’ best path with LaMelo Ball might be the simplest one: don’t run him into the ground.
Minnesota’s new star-level point guard gives the roster a different kind of juice, and the fit with Anthony Edwards should be electric whenever they’re on the floor together. But the bigger question isn’t the highlight reel. It’s how Chris Finch handles Ball’s workload over the course of the season.
Charlotte already found part of the answer last year. The Hornets backed off Ball’s minutes, and it paid off in availability.
He played in 72 games after appearing in just 105 combined over the previous three years. Last season, he logged a career-low 28.0 minutes per game.
That was a major shift from the stretch between 2021-22 and 2024-25, when he played at least 32 minutes a night every year. The result: he missed just 10 games in 2025-26.
For Minnesota, the appeal of keeping him closer to 30 minutes than 35 is pretty clear. The Timberwolves gave up Naz Reid and draft capital to get him, so of course they want him on the court.
But Ball’s injury history makes overdoing it a bad tradeoff. A controlled workload is a lot better than losing him for long stretches.
There’s also a ripple effect that matters for the rest of the roster. If Ball plays 30 minutes instead of 35, that opens five extra minutes for the bench. And this Timberwolves group has a few players who could use those opportunities, whether they end up in the rotation long term or not: Jaylen Clark, Trey Lyles, and Bones Hyland.
Those minutes could matter in different ways. Hyland could get more backup point guard run instead of all of those minutes going to Ayo Dosunmu.
Terrence Shannon Jr. could also get a shot at handling the ball more, which is something Finch has already said he wants to see. The more regular-season reps those guys get, the more Finch learns about who he can trust when the games tighten up.
That matters because recent playoff history has shown the value of depth. The New York Knicks, under Mike Brown, leaned deeper in a championship season than they had under Tom Thibodeau, often going 10 deep with Mitchell Robinson, Jose Alvarado, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, and Jordan Clarkson coming off the bench.
Minnesota doesn’t necessarily need to copy that exact formula in the playoffs. But Finch hasn’t always had even eight players he could fully rely on in recent years. Keeping Ball healthy, trimming his minutes, and using the regular season to sort out the bench could give the Timberwolves a better answer when the pressure rises.
In Other News...
Hornets Moved On Fast From A Recent First Round Pick
Charlotte moved quickly to reshape its backcourt and clear roster space, dealing for Buddy Hield and Ryan Nembhard from Atlanta in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith before turning around and moving Hield to Chicago for Rob Dillingham. The sequence was about more than basketball fit. It was a cap-and-roster maneuver, with the Hornets needing to stay within league limits while sorting out the financial side of the roster.
For Minnesota, the part worth watching is what happened once Dillingham was rerouted again. The former first-round pick barely had time to settle into a new stop before Charlotte moved on from him, underscoring how fast front offices can cycle through young talent when the paperwork and payroll get tight. It is a reminder that sometimes a promising name changes hands as part of a larger accounting exercise, even if the player development questions still hang in the background. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Are Counting On Trey Lyles For Something Bigger This Season
The Timberwolves added Trey Lyles on a one-year veteran minimum deal, and the move says as much about what Minnesota wants around its younger roster as it does about the minutes Lyles might actually play. Now entering his 11th NBA season, Lyles brings the kind of experience teams often value when the regular season starts to grind, especially on a club leaning more heavily on youth than it did a year ago.
At media day, Lyles made it clear he understands the role in front of him is bigger than box-score production. Minnesota is counting on him for veteran steadiness and a strong presence in the room, with Rudy Gobert the only player on the roster older than him. For a team trying to keep its core grounded through a long season, that kind of addition can matter even when the rotation does not make space for it every night. [Read more 🡒]
LaMelo Ball Arrives In Minnesota With An Uncomfortable Off Court Cloud
LaMelo Balls first summer in Minnesota has come with the usual on-court adjustment period after his move from Charlotte, but there has also been an off-court story drawing attention as he gets ready for the upcoming season. The Timberwolves are welcoming a high-profile guard into the fold, and with that comes the kind of scrutiny that follows star players anywhere they land.
Balls partner, Ana Montana, was arrested in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on charges tied to controlled substances and has since been released on bond. The case is still ongoing, leaving an uncomfortable backdrop around a player whose arrival in Minnesota is supposed to be about basketball, chemistry and a fresh start. [Read more 🡒]