Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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If Ball can stay healthy this seems like a steal. Basically a 6th man and a 2033 first round pick for Ball.


Howl Wolves!!
 




Definitely have another ball handler now. Will be interested to see how he and ant mesh.

Agree need some front court help and need to figure out a better rim runner with Ball for the pick and pop than Rudy
 









Think you have Ant, Ball, Jaden and Rudy. Who starts at other forward spot? Not many assets left to acquire a decent one. Guess you could play small ball some of the time.
 

Will be interesting to see what front court moves are made. Even if multiple moves are made, seems there will be a decent amount put on Beringer's plate. Looking at available FA's, not a ton of interesting options there, so it will likely need to be a trade. Did Bones play well enough down the stretch he's worth something as a sign-and-trade? Is Donte's expiring contract worth anything (I don't begin to understand the intricacies of NBA salary caps)? Being very guard heavy, I have to assume they're looking to move Shannon for a big; what is he worth?
 







Bunch of dinks over at ESPN:

June 25: Hornets deal Ball to Wolves for Reid, picks​

Minnesota Timberwolves get: G LaMelo Ball, F Josh Green

Charlotte Hornets get: F Naz Reid, 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030), three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033)

Grade for Minnesota: D+

What this means for the Timberwolves: The Timberwolves had to make a choice last summer. Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were potential free agents, and for all intents and purposes, the Western Conference finalists could keep only two. So Minnesota opted for size, re-signing power forwards Randle and Reid and letting the smaller Alexander-Walker leave for Atlanta.

Fast-forward a year, and it's clear the Timberwolves would like a mulligan on that decision: Alexander-Walker is the Most Improved Player winner, while both Randle and Reid are off the team entirely, after two blockbuster trades.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday that Minnesota was sending Randle to Brooklyn in a three-team deal, and that transaction folded in a fourth team Thursday, with an addition that essentially swaps Ball for Reid and future picks.

Minnesota already had little draft capital remaining, as a result of trading for Rudy Gobert and Rob Dillingham in previous summers. The Timberwolves now don't control their own first-round pick in 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031 or 2033, and their 2032 pick is frozen due to second apron rules.

In other words, this is the last big swing the team can realistically take to build around Anthony Edwards, and to push past the Thunder and Spurs and other Western Conference contenders to actually reach the Finals, rather than stall out a round or two short. Is it enough?

Let's start with a positive frame. Despite the occasional foolish turnover or ill-advised off-balance 3-pointer, Ball is a tremendous offensive engine. He's a solid 3-point shooter on immense volume, an excellent passer and knows how to navigate a pick-and-roll. (He ranked second in the league in total pick volume last season, behind only Jalen Brunson, per GeniusIQ.)

Over the past two seasons, he ranked in the 99th percentile in on/off differential on offense, per Cleaning the Glass, as Charlotte's offense hummed with him on the floor and cratered without him.

LaMelo Ball's Offensive Impact​

SeasonOffensive On/Off
Differential		Percentile
2020-21160th
2021-222.268th
2022-235.789th
2023-245.187th
2024-2511.499th
2025-2611.699th


According to both estimated plus-minus and xRAPM, which incorporate that on/off data, Ball ranks as one of the five best offensive players in the sport, in terms of per-possession impact. That's a meaningful addition to a team that has lacked playmaking ability ever since veteran point guard Mike Conley began to show his age.

With Edwards and Ball -- the Nos. 1 and 3 picks in the 2020 draft -- Minnesota now boasts one of the NBA's best backcourts. Add in Ayo Dosunmu, who's staying in Minnesota after signing a five-year, $112 million deal, and the Timberwolves have transformed their guard rotation from Edwards and question marks to an undeniable strength.

But now comes the negative side, with two overwhelming concerns. The first is Ball's availability, on which Minnesota is essentially staking its future.

Here are Ball's games played over the past four seasons, since he was an All-Star in Year 2: 36, 22, 47, 72. In that light, last season's 72 games played looks like an outlier -- and even then, the Hornets limited his minutes to just 28 per game to keep him fresh. It's possible Ball has turned the corner and will be healthier going forward, but that's a large gamble.

The second main drawback is what this trade does for Minnesota's roster balance. For as deep and dynamic as the backcourt now looks, the frontcourt appears equally barren, with two of Minnesota's three big men from last season leaving in the same trade.

The Timberwolves' depth chart now features Jaden McDaniels at small forward, Gobert at center and 19-year-old Joan Beringer at backup center -- but a big empty hole where the power forward should be. That's a major issue in a league in which size is once again becoming more important, and it's unclear if the Timberwolves have the resources to address it.

It's possible McDaniels could move up a position, but his greatest strength is his ability to stymie opposing guards. In the playoffs, he most frequently guarded Jamal Murray and De'Aaron Fox, according to GeniusIQ tracking; in the regular season, his most common matchups included bigger wings such as Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard, but more lead guards such as Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Stephen Curry.

The Timberwolves could also try trading Donte DiVincenzo, who's out indefinitely after tearing his Achilles in the playoffs, for more size. But without attractive draft picks, it could be difficult to incentivize a partner team in that hypothetical deal.

Otherwise, Minnesota has only about $10 million to fill its last three roster spots -- after it signs second-round pick Isaiah Evans -- before reaching the second apron, where it's hard-capped as a result of aggregating players in this trade. That's nowhere near enough room to add the caliber of players it needs to round out a championship-worthy rotation.

For a while now, the Timberwolves have sought to use their scant remaining resources to add star power next to Edwards. And compared to missing on Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ball seems like a lesser prize. He's still just 24 years old, and if he remains healthy, his contract is fair value for a player with his offensive potential ($130.7 million over the next three seasons, or about 25% of the cap).

But in taking their final big swing on an injury-prone, defensively limited guard who fills one big hole but opens up another just as large, the Timberwolves might have locked themselves into an unwinnable situation. And now they have less flexibility than before, if they want another mulligan next summer.

www.espn.com

2026 NBA offseason trade grades: LaMelo Ball, Isaiah Stewart deals

We're grading the biggest NBA trades of the offseason, including the blockbuster deal that sent LaMelo Ball from Charlotte to Minnesota.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Howl Wolves!!
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I like Naz, but the truth is that decent offensive players who are defensive liabilities are relatively easy to replace (see Luka Garza).
Click to expand...

Naz is a far better defender than people give him credit for and advanced metrics back that up. He is nowhere near as bad as Garza and he's a better defender than Randle was.
 


Is this dude even that good? Seems like it won't move the needle to actually compete for titles.
 



BleedGopher said:
Bunch of dinks over at ESPN:

June 25: Hornets deal Ball to Wolves for Reid, picks​

Minnesota Timberwolves get: G LaMelo Ball, F Josh Green

Charlotte Hornets get: F Naz Reid, 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030), three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033)

Grade for Minnesota: D+

What this means for the Timberwolves: The Timberwolves had to make a choice last summer. Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were potential free agents, and for all intents and purposes, the Western Conference finalists could keep only two. So Minnesota opted for size, re-signing power forwards Randle and Reid and letting the smaller Alexander-Walker leave for Atlanta.

Fast-forward a year, and it's clear the Timberwolves would like a mulligan on that decision: Alexander-Walker is the Most Improved Player winner, while both Randle and Reid are off the team entirely, after two blockbuster trades.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday that Minnesota was sending Randle to Brooklyn in a three-team deal, and that transaction folded in a fourth team Thursday, with an addition that essentially swaps Ball for Reid and future picks.

Minnesota already had little draft capital remaining, as a result of trading for Rudy Gobert and Rob Dillingham in previous summers. The Timberwolves now don't control their own first-round pick in 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031 or 2033, and their 2032 pick is frozen due to second apron rules.

In other words, this is the last big swing the team can realistically take to build around Anthony Edwards, and to push past the Thunder and Spurs and other Western Conference contenders to actually reach the Finals, rather than stall out a round or two short. Is it enough?

Let's start with a positive frame. Despite the occasional foolish turnover or ill-advised off-balance 3-pointer, Ball is a tremendous offensive engine. He's a solid 3-point shooter on immense volume, an excellent passer and knows how to navigate a pick-and-roll. (He ranked second in the league in total pick volume last season, behind only Jalen Brunson, per GeniusIQ.)

Over the past two seasons, he ranked in the 99th percentile in on/off differential on offense, per Cleaning the Glass, as Charlotte's offense hummed with him on the floor and cratered without him.

LaMelo Ball's Offensive Impact​

SeasonOffensive On/Off
Differential		Percentile
2020-21160th
2021-222.268th
2022-235.789th
2023-245.187th
2024-2511.499th
2025-2611.699th


According to both estimated plus-minus and xRAPM, which incorporate that on/off data, Ball ranks as one of the five best offensive players in the sport, in terms of per-possession impact. That's a meaningful addition to a team that has lacked playmaking ability ever since veteran point guard Mike Conley began to show his age.

With Edwards and Ball -- the Nos. 1 and 3 picks in the 2020 draft -- Minnesota now boasts one of the NBA's best backcourts. Add in Ayo Dosunmu, who's staying in Minnesota after signing a five-year, $112 million deal, and the Timberwolves have transformed their guard rotation from Edwards and question marks to an undeniable strength.

But now comes the negative side, with two overwhelming concerns. The first is Ball's availability, on which Minnesota is essentially staking its future.

Here are Ball's games played over the past four seasons, since he was an All-Star in Year 2: 36, 22, 47, 72. In that light, last season's 72 games played looks like an outlier -- and even then, the Hornets limited his minutes to just 28 per game to keep him fresh. It's possible Ball has turned the corner and will be healthier going forward, but that's a large gamble.

The second main drawback is what this trade does for Minnesota's roster balance. For as deep and dynamic as the backcourt now looks, the frontcourt appears equally barren, with two of Minnesota's three big men from last season leaving in the same trade.

The Timberwolves' depth chart now features Jaden McDaniels at small forward, Gobert at center and 19-year-old Joan Beringer at backup center -- but a big empty hole where the power forward should be. That's a major issue in a league in which size is once again becoming more important, and it's unclear if the Timberwolves have the resources to address it.

It's possible McDaniels could move up a position, but his greatest strength is his ability to stymie opposing guards. In the playoffs, he most frequently guarded Jamal Murray and De'Aaron Fox, according to GeniusIQ tracking; in the regular season, his most common matchups included bigger wings such as Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard, but more lead guards such as Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Stephen Curry.

The Timberwolves could also try trading Donte DiVincenzo, who's out indefinitely after tearing his Achilles in the playoffs, for more size. But without attractive draft picks, it could be difficult to incentivize a partner team in that hypothetical deal.

Otherwise, Minnesota has only about $10 million to fill its last three roster spots -- after it signs second-round pick Isaiah Evans -- before reaching the second apron, where it's hard-capped as a result of aggregating players in this trade. That's nowhere near enough room to add the caliber of players it needs to round out a championship-worthy rotation.

For a while now, the Timberwolves have sought to use their scant remaining resources to add star power next to Edwards. And compared to missing on Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ball seems like a lesser prize. He's still just 24 years old, and if he remains healthy, his contract is fair value for a player with his offensive potential ($130.7 million over the next three seasons, or about 25% of the cap).

But in taking their final big swing on an injury-prone, defensively limited guard who fills one big hole but opens up another just as large, the Timberwolves might have locked themselves into an unwinnable situation. And now they have less flexibility than before, if they want another mulligan next summer.

www.espn.com

2026 NBA offseason trade grades: LaMelo Ball, Isaiah Stewart deals

We're grading the biggest NBA trades of the offseason, including the blockbuster deal that sent LaMelo Ball from Charlotte to Minnesota.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Howl Wolves!!
Click to expand...
Sorry, i think this is dead on.

Also, if they were okay trading Naz, no need to keep DDV for culture. Trade him
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
Sorry, i think this is dead on.

Also, if they were okay trading Naz, no need to keep DDV for culture. Trade him
Click to expand...
The analysis is spot on. The grading is strange to me.

He admits we are adding talent at the cost of losing front court depth. That seems like a very strange D+.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
Naz is a far better defender than people give him credit for and advanced metrics back that up. He is nowhere near as bad as Garza and he's a better defender than Randle was.
Click to expand...
I think a lot of our defensive metrics are skewed because of Rudy and Jaden.

I agree he is a better defender than Randle. Randle is a better offensive player and we had to pay someone to take his salary. We turned Naz's into a flawed but talented 24 year old.

The backlash to everything the Wolves do is just off to me. We all came out of the SAS series this year and the OKC series last year and commented on the talent difference between those teams and us. We then trade role players for a young star and that's somehow a bad move? I just don't get it.

I think this could go terribly but we had to swing at a big move. If Lamelo stays healthy and we can add a depth piece to the front court, we're good. I just can't squint and see how running it back with Naz was going to do anything for us.
 


I'm hardly a great NBA mind but it seems having two high volume shooters that like to have the ball in their hands a lot in the same backcourt could be a problem, no?
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I think a lot of our defensive metrics are skewed because of Rudy and Jaden.

I agree he is a better defender than Randle. Randle is a better offensive player and we had to pay someone to take his salary. We turned Naz's into a flawed but talented 24 year old.

The backlash to everything the Wolves do is just off to me. We all came out of the SAS series this year and the OKC series last year and commented on the talent difference between those teams and us. We then trade role players for a young star and that's somehow a bad move? I just don't get it.

I think this could go terribly but we had to swing at a big move. If Lamelo stays healthy and we can add a depth piece to the front court, we're good. I just can't squint and see how running it back with Naz was going to do anything for us.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I believe it's a heck of a lot easier to find a serviceable PF than it is a Top 10 PG that's only 24 years old.

Use the Green expiring along with TSJ and/or Evans to land a guy like PJ Washington, Bobby Portis or Jalen Smith. There is plenty of risk acquiring LaMelo but he also raises the team's ceiling significantly IMO.

My hope is that by adding a primary ball handler, it saves Ant energy that he can use to get back to being a real force on the defensive end. Losing Naz is a bummer but this gamble is a no-brainer to me.

Fun fact: LaMelo made the most 3's in the NBA last season. The guy who finished 2nd (Knueppel) received his passes from LaMelo.
 

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