After a nervy few days for Timberwolves fans surrounding the NBA Draft, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly and General Manager Matt Lloyd executed an all-in type trade to bring Charlotte’s All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball and guard Josh Green to Minnesota. This move was unthought of, given the position the Wolves found themselves in the day before the draft.
Timberwolves’ Precursory Moves
It all started when the Wolves traded forward Julius Randle and the Wolves’ No. 28 pick in the NBA Draft to the Brooklyn Nets, who sent their No. 33 pick to Minnesota in exchange, the night before the draft. This was part of a three-team deal that included the Chicago Bulls, who acquired center Nic Claxton from the Nets. The Nets absorbed Randle’s salary in the move, sending no salary back to Minnesota and creating significant financial flexibility for the Wolves. ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania broke the news.
Subsequently, the Wolves then declared their intention to re-sign their biggest offseason priority — Ayo Dosunmu — to a five-year, $112 million contract that includes a player option in the fifth season. Dosunmu, a 26-year-old unrestricted free agent, was an instant fit for the Wolves when they acquired him from Chicago at the trade deadline in February, averaging 19.2 points on 50% shooting (42.5% from three), 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the postseason.
Where Things Then Stood
Following the Randle trade, the Timberwolves had cleared $36 million in cap space, with a newly-created $33 million trade-exception and sat $50 million below the first apron. Considering the announced intent to re-sign Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota sat $31 million below the first apron. Yossi Gozlan, founder and producer of “Third Apron“, provided a visual that considered what the Wolves had left to work with.
Many pundits soon thereafter began the rumblings of Anthony Edwards being dissatisfied with Minnesota’s roster happenings, which got shut down quickly. It was thought in league circles that the Wolves strictly made these moves to avoid the luxury tax. As it turns out, Connelly and Lloyd had bigger things in mind.
The NBA Draft Left Some Clues
After the end of the draft’s first round, Tim Connelly held a press availability in which he described the Wolves’ moves as “cost dependent.” Again, this left many Minnesota fans wondering what direction they were going. None of their needs had yet been addressed, and the Wolves hadn’t even drafted one player.
In the second round, Minnesota selected Duke guard Isaiah Evans (via proposed trade with Brooklyn) and Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. Feelings around the Wolves had only slightly shifted. Evans is regarded as a steal at pick number 33, but Minnesota still had not found an answer for their biggest roster hole — point guard. Confusion and uncertainty had only grown, especially after Connelly’s comments regarding finances the night prior.
However, after the NBA Draft had officially concluded, Charania and others began offering reports of the Charlotte Hornets shopping LaMelo Ball. This came after Charlotte had selected Texas Tech point guard Christian Anderson with pick number 18. Minnesota had reportedly shown interest in Ball at last winter’s trade deadline, but nothing materialized.
The LaMelo Ball Trade and Details
On the morning of June 25, the biggest Timberwolves news in years came from Charania.
The Charlotte Hornets agreed in principle to trade star point guard LaMelo Ball and guard Josh Green to Minnesota. The Wolves would give up fan-favorite and 2024 Sixth MOTY Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, and three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033). Charlotte also gets first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030. Some may see this as a haul, but considering the pick swaps will likely be late first-rounders (if Minnesota performs well), it doesn’t feel like an overpay.
The Athletic‘s Jon Krawczynski to explained that the Timberwolves have “been trying to get LaMelo Ball for two years.”
Regarding Ball’s feelings on the matter, Charania said, “My understanding is LaMelo Ball is very excited to go play with Anthony Edwards to try to win championships. He knows the task at hand. Those two guys, from my understanding, are friends. They’ve had communication in the recent past.”
Tim Connelly is on record saying “He (Edwards) plays an active role in roster decisions”, and described his input as “invaluable.” “We have such high hopes for him,” said Connelly. “We think he can go down as one of the best players of all time.”
Krawczynski also noted, “The Wolves are going to be a tax-paying team next season. Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez (co-owners) were fully in support of the deal to reshuffle the roster around Anthony Edwards.” This marked a seismic shift in tune from what Minnesota fans were fed a mere 72 hours earlier.
Does LaMelo Ball Fit With Timberwolves’ Roster?
With the blockbuster trade finally in the rearview, Timberwolves fans can take a breath. Many believe that Ball immediately addresses one of the Timberwolves’ biggest needs. He averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds and shot 36.8% from 3PT land in 72 regular-season games last season. The team’s core now will be its 24-year-old backcourt of Edwards and Ball, and 25-year-old wing Jaden McDaniels. All three are under contract through the 2028-29 season.
Krawczynski and Sam Amick, also of The Athletic, wrote regarding Connelly and Wolves head coach Chris Finch: “Connelly and coach Chris Finch have long admired Ball’s game, believing his superior passing and volume 3-point shooting would be an ideal fit next to Edwards.”
The Aftermath of the Trade
As far as rounding the rest of the roster out, the Wolves will need to get creative. According to Krawczynski, “The Wolves do still have other moves in the works. They need a power forward, and they need more shooting. I am told that they are not trading Donte DiVincenzo. The work continues.”
Gozlan of “Third Apron” breaks down the financial situation for the Timberwolves extremely well. He writes, “They project with $11 million in room below the hard cap to fill up at least four roster spots. They effectively have $9.6 million to spend on three (players) if one of those spots goes to Evans on a rookie minimum salary ($1.35 million).”
That’s a very tight squeeze.
He goes on to explain, “The Wolves would have limited options for upgrading the frontcourt. They will no longer create a $33 million trade exception and lose access to all trade exceptions created last season, including the $10.8 million one. They also lose the $5.5 million bi-annual exception and get the reduced $6 million taxpayer mid-level exception instead of the $15.5 million one.” This insinuates that without trading someone like Green or Terrence Shannon Jr, they’re unlikely to get a starter-level forward.
What Is the Realistic Way Forward Now?
Moreover, Gozlan states, “Their (Minnesota’s) best path to acquiring a new starting-level forward is through trade. Green’s $14.7 million and Donte DiVincenzo’s $12.5 million salaries can be traded for players earning up to those amounts or less. If the Wolves acquire Green, they would be unable to aggregate his salary for a more expensive player…They could get a more expensive forward if they expand the trade further.”
This would mean re-routing Green elsewhere, while also including a salaried player like Shannon Jr, considering Minnesota has indicated an unwillingness to trade DiVincenzo. Admittedly, this stuff gets quite confusing, so here is another visual Gozlan provided.
Minnesota’s roster is now mostly complete — the remainder of the moves coming are ancillary. The Timberwolves have officially pushed all their chips to the middle of the table and have to hope it will work. For now, Wolves fans should feel markedly better than they did before draft week. It’s up to Connelly and Lloyd to figure out how to make the financial gymnastics work.
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