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The No. 1 and No. 3 picks, respectively, in the 2020 NBA Draft, Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball are now Minnesota teammates.<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS \u2014 This Timberwolves guard has one of the biggest personalities in the NBA. Immensely talented, he lets his team\u2019s fans share in the fun. He\u2019s a nightly highlight, a showman who plays with an obvious exuberance and demands constant defensive attention from opponents to guard against the damage he can do.<\/p>\n
And now, so does that Timberwolves guard.<\/p>\n
As starting backcourts go, it will be difficult to find a more dynamic and exciting one this season than Minnesota\u2019s Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball. Tim Connelly, the Wolves\u2019 president of basketball operations, entered the offseason determined to address his team\u2019s need<\/a> at point guard.<\/p>\n In landing Ball<\/a>, though, Connelly was like a guy who needed basic transportation to and from the office coming home with a Maserati.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a real point guard, which is hard to find,\u201d Connelly said at a news conference last week introducing Ball. \u201cHe\u2019s been through a lot. But he\u2019s still only 24 years old [25 next month]. He\u2019s a guy that we think is going to help elevate us, and hopefully we can help elevate him as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Connelly has valued Ball ever since scouting him and Edwards when they were 2020 draftmates<\/a>. The Wolves took Edwards at No. 1, with Ball going to the Charlotte Hornets two picks later.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been the face of the Hornets ever since. Ball beat out Edwards as the 2020-21 Kia Rookie of the Year<\/a> and, the following season, beat him to an All-Star selection<\/a>. In his six NBA seasons, Ball has averaged 20.8 points, 7.3 assists and 1.4 steals, while hoisting 10.4 3-pointers per game over the past four seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at our team, it\u2019s hard not to be excited about what we have,\u201d Connelly said, even as he was imagining other moves in the time left before training camp opens.<\/p>\n Actually, Minnesota as currently configured is both a have and a have-not. To obtain Ball and address that glaring need for a playmaker, Connelly had to strip away strength at another position.<\/p>\n You know that old saying<\/a> about robbing Peter to pay Paul? The Wolves have robbed from power forward to land their point guard. Both Julius Randle and Naz Reid were the price paid<\/a>, the two burly scorers sent out in the trade that, by the time it was announced, had grown to four teams.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the difference between a need and a want.<\/p>\n LaMelo Ball and Josh Green address the media at their Minnesota Timberwolves introductory press conference.<\/p>\n Dating to last season, coach Chris Finch still figured to rely on veteran Mike Conley, then 38, to direct Minnesota\u2019s on-court traffic at pivotal times. Meanwhile, the organization hoped that 20-year-old prospect Rob Dillingham could develop in real time as a point guard for a contending team. When neither the old nor the young proved to be the team\u2019s answer, they went for a Goldilocks choice: Finch and Connelly decided to put the ball in Edwards\u2019 hands more than ever. Then they put shooter Donte DiVincenzo next to him.<\/p>\n Edwards had a stellar season as a scorer, posting 28.8 ppg while shooting career bests of 48.9% overall and 39.9% on 3-pointers. His assists dipped (3.7), which was insufficient given his enhanced role and usage rate. Randle (5 apg) led the team in assists, with DiVincenzo (3.8 apg) at No. 2 last season.<\/p>\n It was a little too much to ask of Edwards. After perking up in 2024-25 as the NBA\u2019s No. 8 offense, Minnesota slid back to middle-of-the-pack status. And after two consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals, they lost in the semifinals<\/a> to the San Antonio Spurs. Five straight playoff appearances were nice, given the franchise\u2019s modest postseason history. But backward momentum was not.<\/p>\n Room for Ball to grow in Minnesota<\/p>\n Ball gives the Wolves a point-guard lifer who \u2013 depending on his shooters \u2013 notches 3.7 assists before halftime most nights. Flamboyant both in look and playing style, the brother of Lonzo and LiAngelo is a willing and creative passer \u2013 as well as a practitioner of at least one hasty \u201coh no\u201d deep-three fling almost every game he plays.<\/p>\n The questions about his durability are real \u2013 he has played in 303 of a possible 482 games in his six seasons. But Ball was healthy most of last season and deserves a lot of credit for the Hornets\u2019 second-half surge and 44-38 record (after three seasons in which they were a combined 67-179).<\/p>\n Ball embraced the infusion of four promising rookies, led by Kia Rookie of the Year runner-up Kon Knueppel. He upped his playmaking while taking four fewer shots per game than the previous season. Ball\u2019s scoring average dipped from 25.2 to 20.1, but his net rating flipped into the black at +9.1 after seasons of -3.9, -8.4 and -4.7 from 2022-23 through 2024-25.<\/p>\n So why would the Hornets move off Ball now? Well, he\u2019s owed $130 million over the next three seasons. Charlotte, which also traded Miles Bridges<\/a> this summer, is getting younger and stockpiling draft assets. And the Hornets believe Coby White, acquired in February from the Bulls<\/a>, can be their starting point guard.<\/p>\n Finch is enthralled with Ball\u2019s offensive capabilities and said he senses a growing seriousness in his game, same as he does with Edwards. Teaming Ball with veterans focused on a long postseason rather than the SoFi Play-In Tournament or a first-round taste may help, too. As for Ball\u2019s inattention to defense in the past, the Wolves coach anticipates improvement there as well.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s never played with anybody like Rudy behind him,\u201d Finch said.<\/p>\n Rudy, of course, is Rudy Gobert, the four-time Kia Defensive Player of the Year who just earned his ninth All-Defensive honor. Now 34, the 7-foot-1 center remains one of the most formidable rim protectors in league annals. But after relying on putbacks and occasional alley-oops for scoring chances the past two seasons, Gobert is a project for the new point guard as Ball tries to unlock more offensive production from him.<\/p>\n Jaden McDaniels is another Timberwolf who lightens teammates\u2019 defensive loads. He routinely shadows opponents\u2019 most potent perimeter scorers with toughness and the wingspan of a train-crossing gate. Connelly and Finch are convinced McDaniels has untapped offense, based upon his scoring average (14.8 last season) and shot totals (11.1) ticking up for the past three seasons.<\/p>\n Lanky and laconic, the 6-foot-9 McDaniels often had to be nudged to assert himself with the ball. The roster, with Randle as the second option and Reid as sixth-man extraordinaire, had much to do with that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a usage thing with Jaden,\u201d Finch told NBA.com during a halftime chat last week during Minnesota\u2019s Summer League game against Indiana<\/a> at Cox Pavilion. \u201cJulius needed the ball. Naz needed the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n McDaniels put up his best shooting line yet (51.5\/41.2\/83.5), but his 18.2 usage rate ranked sixth among Minnesota\u2019s rotation guys. Ayo Dosunmu moved ahead of him (18.6) after he arrived from Chicago. Overall, McDaniels ranked 230th in usage.<\/p>\n Plugging the current hole at power forward is a task for what remains of the offseason. With money tight \u2013 Minnesota is reportedly $4.4 million under the second apron \u201chard cap\u201d and is limited to offering a $3.9 million veteran minimum exception \u2013 landing outside help could be tough.<\/p>\n The basketball staff has talked about alternative solutions from within to cover for big fellas. Smaller lineups utilizing Dosunmu, Josh Green (who came to Minnesota with Ball in the trade), Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark will be tested. Having McDaniels log some minutes at power forward \u2013 despite his lean 185 pounds \u2013 is on the table too.<\/p>\n Adding Ball to the mix could generate new angles and answers. He frees up Edwards to focus on scoring again, and with Ball\u2019s energy and enthusiasm, the Wolves should be fun to watch even as they\u2019re figuring it out.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here<\/a>, find his archive here<\/a> and follow him on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n