Bill Simmons Changes His Tune on LaMelo Ball, Bashes Wolves' Trade

While the general NBA public reaction is that the Timberwolves won the LaMelo Ball trade, several national media members have come out and criticized it from Minnesota's perspective. None have done so quite as strongly and profanely as The Ringer's Bill Simmons.

"I couldn't believe the trade for Minnesota," Simmons said to Zach Lowe on his latest podcast episode. "I f***ing hated it. I hated it. I just couldn't believe it. You do this trade if you want to become the most beloved NBA team with under-25 fans who play video games and are online a lot. It's a 2K, merchandise, jersey-selling trade. I get it, you don't want teams to double Anthony Edwards anymore—"

Lowe then interjected. "I feel like 'I get it' is kind of an important qualifier to 'I hate the f***ing trade,'" he said.

"I get it on paper," Simmons said. "LaMelo Ball would solve a lot of problems that you had with Anthony Edwards last year. There's one problem. He doesn't f***ing play. He's played two seasons of the last six. I watched a ton of Charlotte last year, they were using him like a racecar on Sundays, just driving him slowly around the block. He averaged 27.5 minutes a game from mid-November on. They were really, really careful about not getting him hurt again, almost like they knew they were gonna trade him this summer.

"So this to me feels like a Hail Mary trade that your fans are going to like because LaMelo's the best player in it, the Charlotte fans are mad because they love LaMelo," he added. "LaMelo doesn't f***ing play. He's the least durable good guard of the last 25 years. 6 seasons, 9400 minutes, 0 playoff games, which puts him on this crazy list of guys who have averaged 20 points a game in their first six seasons but have played less than 10,000 minutes, and it's basically just him and Ja Morant and Zion.

"He's not reliable. I think he has metal in his ankle. This is not like, 'Oh, Steph Curry had ankle injuries too.' LaMelo's injuries are way worse than Steph Curry's were. And I just wouldn't have bet on it. I thought this was a crazy trade."

🎙️ @BillSimmons on the LaMelo Ball trade: "I'm at A- or A for Charlotte... I couldn't believe the trade for Minnesota. I f-cking hated it."

"I get it on paper; LaMelo Ball would solve a lot of problems that you had with Anthony Edwards last year. There's one problem: He doesn't… pic.twitter.com/bTbMTDJOL6
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) June 29, 2026

That is quite the strong stance from Simmons, who acknowledged that he likes Ball's theoretical fit in Minnesota but simply doesn't think he's going to stay healthy.

There's no question that Ball's injury history is part of the discussion around this trade and his career so far. Recurring ankle issues have caused him to miss 37 percent of Charlotte's games since he was drafted. He's missed at least 20 games in four of his six seasons. At the same time, Simmons seems to be speaking pretty definitively about Ball's ankles for someone who presumably does not have any insight into the exact details of the situation.

Ball just played 72 games last season and didn't miss a game after mid-December. Yes, the Hornets managed his minutes a bit, but doesn't that makes sense for a non-contending team with a star player who has an injury history? It should also be noted that most of Ball's missed games came during his third through fifth NBA seasons, when the Hornets went a combined 67-179 and ended up with the top-four draft picks that became Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel. Is it possible they weren't exactly rushing him back to action?

There is injury risk with this trade for the Timberwolves, and it's significant that the Hornets moved on from Ball after their best season in a decade. But the injury risk is part of the reason why the Wolves were able to land Ball for just Naz Reid, one future first-round pick, and some (mostly meaningless) swaps and second-rounders. Minnesota is confident in its medical and training staffs, and Tim Connelly felt like this was a risk worth taking.

It's also amusing that Simmons has changed his tune on Ball to this extent. As someone on social media pointed out, it wasn't long ago that he was heaping praise on Charlotte's former point guard.

"I think LaMelo is a real winner this season," Simmons said on March 23. "His stats, if you look at them, he's actually had seasons with better stats. This is a classic eye test, you have to watch it. I love the way he's playing."

So Simmons watched Ball play all season and loved the way he played, only to turn around a few months later and say that Ball never plays. Interesting!

Bill Simmons on LaMelo Ball (March 23rd, 2026):

“I think LaMelo is a real winner this season…I love the way he’s playing!”

Bill Simmons on LaMelo Ball (June 28th, 2026):

“They (The Hornets) were using him like a race car on Sundays…LaMelo doesn’t f*****g play!” pic.twitter.com/ljKEAV47xd
— Kyle Ingram (@SnapshotKyle) June 29, 2026

Ultimately, only time will tell if Ball can stay healthy in Minnesota. But if he does, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about what he's going to bring next to Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels. The Wolves didn't have to give up all that much to acquire a star who fits their age timeline and addresses their biggest need. Even with injury risk, it shouldn't be hard to understand why it's a swing they decided to take.

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