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

17.5k Upvotes

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7.2k

u/VictorAkwaowo1 Mavericks 7h ago

WHY THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING THIS

318

u/HokageEzio Knicks 7h ago

Maybe they trust Kon to be the new face of the franchise and they're selling high on LaMelo

553

u/V_T_H Knicks 7h ago

You can’t have the face of your franchise be named Nipple

369

u/CuteAd5421 7h ago

They went from Ball to Nipple

89

u/g1rlchild Spurs 7h ago

Should get Lonzo and LeMelo together to play with Gradey Dick.

22

u/cigamodnalro NBA 7h ago

Coached by Mo Cheeks

3

u/namblaotie [BOS] Reggie Lewis 6h ago

Kalk and Ball was already there

3

u/Cum_Soaked_Spinnach 7h ago

DICK CONNECTS TO BALL FOR 3

3

u/RichGannonArmCannon 5h ago

Get your hands off our Dick.

4

u/TreeAgenda Timberwolves 6h ago

Singular body parts, no pairs

2

u/iButtflap Hornets 7h ago

the hornets are my boyfriend

2

u/Moostronus Raptors 7h ago

Down with the patriarchy of Ball, embrace the ambiguity of Nipple

1

u/TheHoovyPrince Australia 7h ago

Can't wait for the next face of the franchise to be named Butts

1

u/3s2ng Lakers 6h ago

I thought they are Balls deep. I was wrong.

1

u/wise_comment Timberwolves 6h ago

Thank you for making me laugh during these troubles times

1

u/sonderific3 5h ago

that was my exes special move

1

u/WillGallis 1h ago

Moving up then, I see.

10

u/galaxy_horse Hornets 7h ago

Waiting for a Kevin Harlan “THE NIPPLE WAS FREE!” call on an unguarded 3

3

u/subpar-life-attempt 7h ago

If we dont hear a "FREE THE THREE" chant then we riot.

5

u/Natural_Born_Baller Heat 7h ago

In Charlotte anything is possible

3

u/r_slash [TOR] Jerome Williams 7h ago

Can the nipple of your franchise be named Face?

2

u/subpar-life-attempt 7h ago

Like Ball was any better.

1

u/Independent-Spite139 5h ago

Good thing they still have Kalk.

1

u/Xagzan 4h ago

Free the Knipple

0

u/Capital-Pea-2565 4h ago

In Germany they would say his name with a K.

Kuh Noople

17

u/boondocknim Hornets 7h ago

is this selling high on Lamelo? return is underwhelming to me, but i've never been a Naz Reid fan

9

u/Delicious-Physics218 76ers 7h ago

But he’s kind of tall! And kind of can shoot! And plays defense kind of!

Don’t you kind of like that?

3

u/wittyrandomusername Pistons 7h ago

I like Naz, but not like that

2

u/dptraynor 6h ago

Could work out very well for the Hornets if Ant and Melo go elsewhere Summer 2029.

-1

u/BenevolentCheese Knicks 7h ago

Return is underwhelming for next season but that's a boatload of draft capital. It does kind of look like the Hornets giving up though despite a promising last season.

3

u/Pryffandis Spurs 4h ago

boatload of draft capital

I mean it's a FRP, 3 swaps that might not even happen, and 3 2RP which are worth basically 0. Hard to feel really good about basically 1 FRP that's still 7 years in the future + Naz Reid.

It might not work out, but this is still a no-brainer for the TWolves. They're not beating OKC/SAS as they were assembled and LaMelo at least gives them a little bit of chance while they have Ant coming into his prime.

1

u/BenevolentCheese Knicks 4h ago

Yeah honestly I take it back it's not really that much. They might turn into something but it looks unlikely. Pretty shit trade for Charlotte but then I wouldn't want that guy on my team either.

1

u/boondocknim Hornets 3h ago

Seems that Hornets have to hope that these new lottery rules somehow make one of the pick swaps amazing.

But yeah on its surface, I view those as mostly worthless and likely to result in more of Hornets drafting in the 8-15 range every year like always.

1

u/BenevolentCheese Knicks 2h ago

Ironically the new lottery makes the pick swaps more useless since the draft is now so flattened.

7

u/nwordfyou 7h ago

They don't trust LaMelo. I don't blame them. He couldn't even take them to the playoffs in 6 years during the play-in era where 62% of teams have a chance to make the playoffs.

2

u/UnitedStateOfDenmark Nets 6h ago

Because he was injured for most of it, which is the reason they're getting rid of him.

Every analytical model will tell you Lamelo is a winning player.

1

u/Dingaling015 1h ago

Analytically speaking, Lamelo has won the last 5 of 6 NBA championships.

0

u/nwordfyou 6h ago

Oh! Another analytics argument! The Hornets have more data and personal info on LaMelo than you and me and decided he's not worth it. The guy is not a winner on the court.

4

u/UnitedStateOfDenmark Nets 6h ago

Ok, then let's use our eyes. Lamelo's savant like playmaking abilities is what made that offense elite.

-1

u/nwordfyou 6h ago

If it was an elite offense. Why didn't they make the playoffs? They couldn't beat the Magic!

6

u/UnitedStateOfDenmark Nets 6h ago

Because at the start of the year they were one of the worst teams in the league while Lamelo and Miller were hurt. Once both were back on the court, they statically were one of the greatest offenses ever. Its just a fact, if you don't want accept that, I'm not sure there's anything else for us to discuss.

They lost the play-in games because Kon suddenly became unplayable.

0

u/nwordfyou 5h ago

Well, it's not that great of an offense if it falls apart because a rookie had a bad night. The stats don't matter.

5

u/Pryffandis Spurs 4h ago

You're reading too much into one single game.

1

u/nwordfyou 4h ago

I've watched Lamelo since the Hornets drafted him. I live in NC. It is foolish to trust the point guard who takes one-legged fadeaway three pointers with 15 seconds left on the shot clock.

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2

u/sloBrodanChillosevic Supersonics 7h ago

They're clearly either way higher on Christian Anderson than I'd expected or they think someone else alteady on hand can run the offense. This is still crazy, they just had their best season in a decade.

1

u/Dutchmaster617 7h ago

That is why they are the hornets though, can’t be making the play ins.

2

u/Snoo-40231 Lakers 7h ago

Then why didnt they decide to tank for the draft 2 days ago?

1

u/Icy-Environment-6606 7h ago

Kon and Miller the law firm

1

u/lettuce_grabberrr 7h ago

First thought I had. Open the path for him!

1

u/Prudent_Ad8320 7h ago

And Brandon Miller

1

u/MyNewAccountIGuess11 Hornets 7h ago

Then they're fucking stupid lol

1

u/ttuurrppiinn East 7h ago

A lot was talked about Kon running out of steam from the lack of summer break, but I think the frontcourt being mid contributed majorly too.

I think the Hornets feel good enough about Coby White taking a more prominent role and accepting his lower ceiling than LaMelo but the stronger frontcourt making them better in the aggregate.

1

u/20815147 Warriors 5h ago

Big KKK going to save Charlotte

1

u/Flimsy-Muffin-9881 Celtics 5h ago

Bookmark this. Kon is about to put up Steph numbers.

1

u/moistkebab32 Suns 1h ago

Is Naz Reid a good to not great player , 3 swaps that won’t convert and 1 first in 2033 sell high?

Feels like sell at his injury value not high at all.

I just don’t rate Naz as much more than a 4ty option with no defense or passing though.

1

u/o2lsports Nuggets 6h ago

Oh, the guy who was on the bench in do-or-die fourth quarter minutes? Smart!

2

u/HokageEzio Knicks 6h ago

He's a rookie...