The Timberwolves just traded for LaMelo Ball and I need everyone to stop what they’re doing and appreciate how terrifying this is. Edwards and LaMelo in the same backcourt — both 24, both top-3 picks from the same draft — and the West just became a different animal.
When the trade first dropped, I was half-asleep scrolling my phone and I sat up. Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first, three pick swaps, three seconds — that’s a real price. The Hornets didn’t give this away. Minnesota paid to win now.
And Edwards’ reaction was exactly what you’d expect:
https://twitter.com/GameCentraI/status/2070146961638834538
“We gone f*ck the city up for sure.” That’s not a guy who thinks this is going to be a disaster. Jeff Goodman already called it “a complete shit show” that won’t last two years — and Goodman is usually right about these things. But I watched LaMelo this past season: 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists in 72 games. First time he’s been healthy for three-plus years. He’s 24 and he finally played a full season. The injury narrative is real but it’s getting stale.
What makes this different from every other star-stacking experiment: this isn’t two shot-creators fighting over the same territory. Edwards attacks downhill off curls and hand-offs. LaMelo creates in the halfcourt, off the bounce, in transition. They don’t need the same thing. The shot distribution writes itself.
The comp people keep reaching for is KG and Sprewell in Minnesota — but that team never had a true initiator at point guard. They had Terrell Brandon, then Sam Cassell who was already 34 when he got there. The current Wolves have two 24-year-olds who both create off the dribble. That’s unprecedented in Timberwolves history and it’s frankly unprecedented in the modern West.
Jaden McDaniels (25) locks down one of your best players every night. Ayo Dosunmu (26) knows his role. And Rudy Gobert — yes, Rudy Gobert, the guy everyone eulogized when the Randle trade happened — still anchors it defensively. The Wolves are betting Gobert is a feature, not a bug. Given what he does to rim-running offenses in the playoffs, they’re probably right.
The complicating factor is the ball itself — literally. LaMelo is one of the highest-usage playmakers in the league. So is Ant. Two guys who both want to initiate, both want to run, both want to cook in transition. That’s the version of this that Goodman is betting on and it’s a real concern. I’m just not sure it matters when the talent gap is this wide.
I’m a Knicks fan. The Knicks just made the Finals and I was never supposed to worry about the West. Now I’m worried about the West. That’s how you know this trade matters.
The Wolves are the new ceiling of the West. I don’t love that. But I respect it.
