The Minnesota Timberwolves just traded for LaMelo Ball, and Brian Windhorst has already told the rest of the league that opponents trying to double-team Edwards with LaMelo Ball on the floor are “playing with fire.” He meant that as a scouting report. I’m applying it to the front office.
This is genuinely one of the more exciting and disorienting moves I’ve seen in years of watching this league. Charlotte gets Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first, three pick swaps, and a stack of seconds. Minnesota gets 24-year-old LaMelo Ball and Josh Green — Ball coming off 72 games played, 20.1 points, 7.1 assists, and 272 three-pointers made. That’s second in the entire NBA. The Hornets also get to keep Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.
On paper, Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball playing together is appointment television.
In practice, it’s a coaching problem that doesn’t have a clean answer.
Anthony Edwards did not become the face of the Wolves by sharing the ball. He became the face of the Wolves by taking over games, demanding the rock in big moments, and running Minnesota’s offense through his will. That’s “my team” energy, earned with his legs and his ego and his whole personality. The Timberwolves went to the Western Conference Finals on that identity. It worked because Edwards was unambiguously the alpha.
LaMelo Ball is also an alpha. That’s the whole thing. He’s a ball-dominant point guard who needs creation reps to be effective — same as Edwards. Two ball-dominant guards who both need creation reps is not a problem you solve with zone defenses or lineup juggling. It’s a philosophical question about who this team is supposed to be. And right now, nobody has a real answer.
https://twitter.com/GameCentraI/status/2070146961638834538
Edwards being “over the moon” about this, texting that they’re going to “f*ck the city up,” is the exact energy you’d expect. He’s 24. He’s excited. And he’s probably imagining a version of this pairing that runs perfectly, which is also the version that exists in every optimistic fan’s head right now. But Windhorst’s other warning deserves a second read: NBA vultures were already circling Ant after some big-name superstar trades this offseason, anticipating him becoming the next star available. This move was partly designed to stop that chatter. Which is fine. But you don’t fix a chemistry problem by adding another combustible element and hoping for the best.
The injury history is the other thing nobody wants to say out loud. In his first five NBA seasons, LaMelo Ball averaged 46.2 games played. This trade is built on a 72-game season that is literally only the second time in his career he’s played more than 60 games. You can’t win a championship with a guy who’s unavailable. You need a guy who’s there in March and in Game 7. LaMelo has never proven he can be that guy consistently.
He might. He’s 24. He’s talented enough to be worth the gamble. If Minnesota gets two healthy, engaged stars and a coach who figures out the rotation — for our NBA coverage, follow the latest from around the league — this backcourt could be something genuinely special.
But Windhorst said it right. You’re playing with fire. And sometimes you burn down the house.
