The Minnesota Timberwolves sent a jolt through the NBA world on Thursday when they traded for Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball. In return, the Timberwolves had to give up a sizable chunk of assets, headlined by Naz Red, a future first-round pick, and additional pick swaps.
Recently, NBA analyst Yossi Gozlan broke down how drastically different the Timberwolves’ starting lineup will now look after they traded both Reid and power forward Julius Randle.
“The once supersized Timberwolves are now lacking size in the frontcourt. They’ll be limited in ways to add to their frontcourt with few tradeable salaries and just 1 second-round pick to offer. We could be looking at LaMelo-Ayo-Ant-Jaden-Gobert as the starting lineup,” he noted on X, formerly Twitter.
Prior to the Ball trade, the Timberwolves had already signed last year’s trade acquisition Ayo Dosunmu to a huge contract in free agency, solidifying him as part of their long-term plans moving forward. After trading Randle to the Nets, many assumed that Reid would slot in as the team’s new power forward, but obviously, that will no longer be the case, as he is on his way to Charlotte.
While Gobert is still elite enough on defense to anchor things in the paint, the Timberwolves will be quite small everywhere else on the court, which could take away one of their biggest strengths as a team–many pointed to Minnesota’s overwhelming size and athleticism as the reason it was able to spring an upset of the Denver Nuggets in last year’s playoffs despite a plethora of injuries.
Still, with Ball in the fold, Minnesota now has an elite point guard and shot creator next to Edwards for the first time in his career, which could unlock a whole new level for the Timberwolves offense.
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