The Minnesota Timberwolves decided to shake things up in a big way on Thursday by trading for Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball, as reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. The Timberwolves now pair Anthony Edwards up with a truly elite backcourt mate for the first time in his career as they look to bounce back from their playoff loss to the San Antonio Spurs this year.
Recently, NBA insider Chris Hine of the Minnesota Star Tribune broke down the Wolves’ line of thinking when deciding to make the Ball trade.
“…The Wolves rave about LaMelo Ball as a teammate and say he will have a positive impact on the organization. They said there is an intense competitor there that can emerge. He was the engine to one of the best offenses in the league,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Indeed, Ball was in many ways the head of the snake last year for the Hornets, who surged up the standings toward the end of the season thanks to their explosive offense. Ball finished behind only teammate Kon Knueppel for the league lead in three-pointers made in 2025-26.
“I think the best way to sum it up is this: the Wolves, through their scouting and intel gathering on Ball for years, formed a much different opinion than the public perception of Ball. They’re betting they’re correct. In other words, a zig where others may zag,” reported Hine.
Over the years, Ball’s maturity, health concerns, and other factors have all come under question, but he seemed to have proven enough to Minnesota down the stretch of last year to part with significant assets in order to bring him in.
The Timberwolves will now turn their attention to free agency, which is slated to begin on June 30.
The post Insider reveals how much Timberwolves think LaMelo Ball haters are wrong appeared first on ClutchPoints.
