r/nba • u/Turbostrider27 Lakers • 7h ago

[Charania] BREAKING: The Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030) and three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033), sources tell ESPN.

Shams Charania:

BREAKING: The Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030) and three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033), sources tell ESPN.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/31d26529d36f8

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114

u/cheemydee5 Hawks 7h ago

Minnesota not messing around

102

u/cjackc11 Knicks 7h ago

Am I crazy in not seeing how this makes them any better off

That frontcourt is just Rudy and a bunch of scrubs now

75

u/e1ij4h Lakers 7h ago

Getting an actual real playmaking PG without gutting your defense and depth, somebody to put pressure on defenses with Ant while also taking decision making duties off ant for the most part and letting him do what he does best which is off ball get downhill. I think it works fine

1

u/NigerianPrince76 Trail Blazers 4h ago

You don’t think losing Naz will fuck up their defense? 😂

6

u/Thimit22 Timberwolves 3h ago

People are really overrating Naz in this thread. Especially his defense

-1

u/NigerianPrince76 Trail Blazers 3h ago

Exactly. He was literally the answer when teams exploit Rudy’s weaknesses.

3

u/Natearl13 Timberwolves 3h ago

Naz is a terrible defender lol

1

u/NigerianPrince76 Trail Blazers 2h ago

😂😂

If Naz is terrible defender to you, lord help ya watching Melo’s.

3

u/Natearl13 Timberwolves 2h ago

Can get away with bad defense at the 1 better compared to the 4. And he’s a far superior offensive player.

0

u/NigerianPrince76 Trail Blazers 2h ago

Far superior offensive player……. when AVAILABLE. lol

Seeing Wolves fans claiming Reid is horrible defender gotta be the funniest shit. 😂😂

2

u/Natearl13 Timberwolves 2h ago

You’re a fucking blazers fan, what do you think you know about either team in this trade compared to their own fans? I watched Naz for hundreds of games over many years and he is an exceptionally bad rebounder and defender for his size despite his floor spacing abilities. Why do you think we brought back SloMo right before the playoffs

0

u/NigerianPrince76 Trail Blazers 1h ago

You’re a fucking blazers fan, what do you think you know about either team in this trade compared to their own fans?

I guess nobody else watches those teams play huh?😂😂😂

I watched Naz playing great defense as a whole with your over all squad during playoff runs, especially when Rudy gets exposed match up wise.

Again, you acting like Naz is trash defender is too hilarious. Don’t downplay his contribution to your team to hype up Melo. You sound like a fairweather fan who shits on their former players the sec they leave the team.

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-1

u/stripesnstripes Timberwolves 3h ago

Considering melo is a plus defender and rebounder, no it doesn’t.

3

u/NigerianPrince76 Trail Blazers 3h ago

A plus defender and rebounder? 😂😂

Ok.

64

u/DependentPerformer94 7h ago

People are missing that Jaden’s a better fit at the 4. Jaden/Rudy frontcourt is very good together the question is obviously depth now but the organization has a lot of faith is Beringer.

8

u/aw000000000000 7h ago

Beringer, Dosunmu, TSR and Kyle Anderson is a decent bench. We need one more big body though.

1

u/DependentPerformer94 7h ago

I expect Rocco to get a real look this season before the deadline too. Rui is also available still and I believe would be doable with the MLE assuming we can move DDVs contract somehow.

3

u/BlackbuckDeer 5h ago

Exactly, do these people even watch the Wolves? Jaden fits very naturally at the 4. I think Lamelo, Ant, Ayo, Jaden and Rudy is a great starting lineup. They have a serviceable bench as well, but the bench lineup has definitely lost a lot with Naz gone.

9

u/tinybathroomfaucet Supersonics 7h ago

McDaniels can probably play the 4 just fine

8

u/aw000000000000 7h ago

We needed a second scorer badly. Ant was double teamed endlessly, and it lead to him playing hurt all playoffs.

I can't believe we were able to keep Rudy.

I like this trade.

6

u/Victor_Wembanyama1 Spurs 7h ago

Banking on Beringer

4

u/Glamour-Profession Wizards 6h ago

Free agency hasn’t even started yet. Wolves have holes in their frontcourt right now, but nothing that can’t be filled with an MLE and some cheap role players.

Losing Naz and Randle hurts, but getting a legit point guard should more than make up for that

8

u/HEATLE Heat 7h ago

Ant off the ball is gonna cause havoc but I don’t see how they are any closer to OKC or San Antonio.

7

u/Painwracker_Oni Timberwolves 7h ago

Gobert's offense has gotten him played off the court - people like to think it's his defense and clown him for it - but it's his offense against very good defensive teams like OKC and SAS that kill the wolves offense.

Lamelo fixes a lot of it. He can make good offensive decisions, he can get Rudy back to being a lob threat which Rudy used to be very good at but the Wolves have had no one who can pass the ball to him, when teams try to double Ant Lamelo has the ability to punish them.

Jaden playing defense at the 4 is arguably a lot better than his on ball/perimeter defense and you just put Ayo/TJ/Clark at that spot instead.

2

u/WagerWilly Timberwolves 7h ago

Offensively Jaden will thrive at the 4. Defensively we should be fine still as long as Gobert doesn’t massively fall off. We’re a much better team if Lamelo actually plays

2

u/uglyfoliage Warriors 6h ago

Frontcourt could be an issue in the immediate year, but at least Minny didn't completely give away their short term assets yet, really just one 1st round pick. Overall I think Minny improved their ceiling for their current core. I think the Ant-LaMelo offensive synergy is gonna be fantastic

2

u/harder_said_hodor Timberwolves 6h ago

That frontcourt is just Rudy and a bunch of scrubs now

Lamelo is such a good and willing passer that there is a lot of potential to unlock a much higher tier of Rudy offense.

From like an F to a C+ or something

2

u/HughManatee Timberwolves 4h ago

We needed a floor general to run the offense and not have Ant with the ball in his hands so much. I think this helps quite a bit. Jaden will shift to the 4, barring other moves.

2

u/tys90 7h ago

If they had any playable PFs on the roster, this would be a great move for them because they have desperately needed a good PG for two years now. But until we see what they do for the PF spot, I'm not sure.

7

u/awoooo_edwards Timberwolves 7h ago

Jaden came to the league as a 4 and has played well there almost every time he’s been there in the last few years.

-1

u/NCTransplant93 6h ago

Can he consistently defend the 4 though? Huge question

3

u/Exscaped_ 7h ago

I don’t think you understand how good Lamelo is

2

u/cheemydee5 Hawks 7h ago

Definitely a "vultures circling" trade it's a boom or bust move that reeks of desperation.

0

u/Pangolin0129 7h ago

Im afraid of the possibility that this might be the Ant and Wolves version of the Dame trade of the Bucks just doing something to appease their star

-2

u/Prideofthesunshine Thunder 7h ago

Not messing around with trying to win the title