Trading for LaMelo Ball would solve one issue for the Wolves — and create more

Ball is allegedly "frustrated" with the Hornets and open to being traded. Whether it's true or not, we explored what a deal for the 6-foot-7 point guard might look like.

Nov 1, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) sets the play defended by Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley (10) during the first quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Ja Morant? LaMelo Ball? Nobody? Another point guard who isn't a blockbuster name? If the Timberwolves are going to bolster the point guard position this season, there are certainly going to be options out there. It's just a matter of how big Minnesota wants to go, and how much of their current roster they want to part with.

If they target Morant or Ball, the price is going to be sky-high. Trading Jaden McDaniels or Rudy Gobert would help make the money work for a big-name point guard like Morant or Ball, but it would strip Minnesota of an elite defensive player, and in McDaniels' case, a player who has blossomed into a legitimate two-way threat.

Ball's name entered the rumor mill this week when a report from Yahoo Sports claimed he is "frustrated" amid Charlotte's 4-11 start and open to a trade. Ball addressed the report by posting a clown emoji on social media, but whether it's true or not, his name is circling the rumor mill.

Would the Hornets accept an offer from Minnesota for Ball if it included Naz Reid, Mike Conley, and Rob Dillingham? Reid can't be traded until January 15 because he signed an extension — five years for $125 million — with the Wolves that included a 20% salary increase.

The money would actually work for both teams, though the only pick the Wolves could include is their 2028 first-rounder, and that would have to be a pick swap with the Hornets.

Professional sport can be a nasty business, but would the Timberwolves dump Conley in a losing situation like Charlotte? That would be cruel and unusual punishment for a respected veteran who has helped Minnesota reach the conference finals two years in a row.

But Ball certainly stuffs the stat sheet, averaging 21.6 points, 9.6 assists, and 6.9 rebounds per game this season. He's only shooting 29.8% from three this season, but he's a career 36.5% three-point shooter. That said, he's a liability on defense with a 116.2 defensive rating, which is par for the course since he was drafted third overall — two picks after Anthony Edwards — in the 2020 NBA draft.

Trading for Ball, under the hypothetical deal above, would strip Minnesota of its top bench option (Reid) and also deplete the depth at point guard, although Ball would be a supreme upgrade at the position. Imagine a Wolves starting five like this:

• LaMelo Ball
• Anthony Edwards
• Jaden McDaniels
• Julius Randle
• Rudy Gobert

That's a scary-good starting five if they learned how to play together. But the bench would be weakened in the frontcourt, as the only bigs behind Gobert and Randle would be 19-year-old Joan Beringer and Leonard Miller. Neither is in the regular rotation.

Donte DiVincenzo and Bones Hyland would be the only capable point guards off the bench, while Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon Jr. would be the top wings.

All of this is why most insiders think Minnesota won't make a move for a blockbuster name. That said, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly is a big-game hunter, and if he's capable of trading Karl-Anthony Towns like he did before the 2024-25 season, anything is possible.