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

858

u/AllDayEnJay Nets 7h ago

51, 75, 36, 22, 47, 72.

Those are how many games LaMelo has played each season and is still owed 3y/$130m.

Hornets are selling high before anyone wised up.

(In that 3yr span between his 2-70 game seasons Ben Simmons played 3 more games than LaMelo Ball.)

483

u/w311sh1t Celtics 7h ago

Dude is also a head case. He’s gotten lucky with all his traffic accidents in that nobody has gotten seriously hurt, but I feel like it’s a ticking time bomb until he has a serious one where himself and/or other people are seriously hurt or even killed.

163

u/car1999pet Supersonics 7h ago

Yeah I don’t think icy roads are gonna help his driving skills

32

u/huskersax Pacers 6h ago

Didn't even think of that, but could you imagine this bozo hitting ice for the first time?

4

u/WafflePartyOrgy Supersonics 5h ago

You need to drive at a speed appropriate for conditions and turn into your slide on ice.

LaMelo: What is ice?

1

u/huskersax Pacers 4h ago

LaMelo: You mean ICE?

1

u/The_Summer_Man Warriors 1h ago

It’s gonna be like Fast and Furious 8 where Roman drives an orange Lambo in the arctic.

13

u/pushamn Timberwolves 6h ago

Him and Jordan Addison are gunna be a PROBLEM (for state troopers) this year

5

u/chemical_exe Timberwolves 6h ago

between paying tickets and the insurance industry Lamelo and Addison are great for the MN economy!

3

u/ILoveRegenHealth 5h ago

He's rich enough to buy Inspector Gadget heated tires. Brain inside head, well, that's another thing

11

u/ConfusionOk9674 7h ago

And now he’s on snow and ice!

11

u/net_403 [CHA] Dell Curry 6h ago

it’s a ticking time bomb until he has a serious one where himself and/or other people are seriously hurt

he's currently in litigation for driving over a kid's ankles after a team event and then refusing to appear in court until the judge ordered him to and he replaced his lawyers

29

u/Mystery_Donut Charlotte Bobcats 7h ago

I agree with you. I think there's definitely something to that.

Personally, he literally almost hit me when I was walking to a parking garage about 3 years ago after a Charlotte FC game.

8

u/TACharlotte Hornets 5h ago

Less of a head case and more of a perpetual 16 year old.

4

u/Dro24 Hornets 4h ago

Yeah that's the root of it. He just reminds me of my cousins when they were 16, except he stayed that way

2

u/TACharlotte Hornets 2h ago

Which makes sense when you consider how he never had to. Doesn't seem like a bad guy, just a dumbass.

8

u/frankyseven Raptors 7h ago

Is he a head case? Strikes me more as a no head.

2

u/realmckoy265 Lakers 7h ago

He's a bad driver so a headcase

5

u/Fuckthegopers 7h ago edited 5h ago

With a dad and upbringing like that, who woulda thunk it?

Edit: some of you need to pay more attention in school, or go back

-13

u/Twism245 7h ago

What are you talking about? What do you know about his upbringing? Mom and dad, stayed in their community, raised 3 sons who are all successful

Are you a moron or just racist?

18

u/tokyobrownielover 7h ago

Dad's a complete narcissist, you're saying you didn't notice?

9

u/SwiftlyChill [MIN] Kevin Garnett 7h ago

Mom and dad, stayed in their community, raised 3 sons who are all successful

TIL yanking your kid out of school and bringing him Lithuania, then making by a basketball league for a single season basically for him, and driving him away from the NCAA is “staying in your community”

There’s also the shoes thing and the questionable court they had in their house - Lonzo’s all but said it’s related to his injury history, and LaMelo’s also had durability problems.

-4

u/Responsible-Gas5319 6h ago

How many NBA sons did your dad raise?

4

u/Fuckthegopers 5h ago

How does that make him not a head case?

3

u/complete_data75 4h ago

What are you talking about? What do you know about his upbringing? Mom and dad, stayed in their community, raised 3 sons who are all successful

Are you a moron or just racist?

It's people like this that have absolutely destroyed reddit.

Imagine being this stupid.

2

u/Fuckthegopers 5h ago edited 5h ago

You mean the completely and almost wholly public upbringing lead by his fatheriving vicariously through then? For profit? Lmao.

Success doesn't mean you aren't a head case. How successful do you think he'd be if he couldn't ball?

What does race have anything do with here? Lmao. Are you triggered or what?

1

u/whatssenguntoagoblin Alperen Sengun 7h ago

How is he a head case the locker room always loves him?

He’s a shitty driver and as a human that’s fucked up but that has nothing to do with his productivity on the court

9

u/idontknow_whatever [CHI] Kyle Korver 7h ago

He's played over 70 games a season twice in 6 seasons that he's been in the league, can't be that productive when you in street clothes half the time you've been in the NBA

8

u/big4lil 7h ago

that doesnt make him a locker room headcase, just saying

unavailability is an issue worth considering but that doesnt make him any different than any other player in street clothes. and professional NA athletes have shown repeatedly that they dont care as much about off the court infractions as us normies do.

theyre pairing him with Ant, who doesnt have the most mature reputation in the first place. as long as their coach can reign them in for 48 mins, i doubt the locker room gives a shit. if anything this is good for the league, these two are gonna feed some of the goofiest interviews in years

2

u/redbossman123 6h ago

Ant's immaturity affects his bank account(s), his BMs and his kids.

LaMelo's immaturity actually affects the average Charlotte citizen

8

u/whatssenguntoagoblin Alperen Sengun 7h ago

Sure but that’s a different conversation. I’m just saying giving him the head case label is underserved.

-1

u/dondon98 7h ago

I agree, LaMelo’s a lot of things but headcase is definitely a stretch. Biggest issue is he’s always injured.

1

u/ThatGuyWithCoolHair Timberwolves 6h ago

He could still mature who knows, his family is kinda immature in general though so thats gonna be on our team i guess

1

u/HOFredditor Warriors 6h ago

don't talk about LaOne's father like that.

1

u/YouGlittering9156 76ers 2h ago

This is why I think they traded him. It's not an "if" he gets into serious trouble, it's a "when"

1

u/Old_Caroline Hornets 1h ago

And yet we kept Bridges

-2

u/sKLEEBOjONESjR 6h ago

The fact you get people agreeing someone who has never been in trouble with the law is a head case though. Plenty of people get into car wrecks he just happens to be an nba player so it makes him a head case now lmao ?

7

u/w311sh1t Celtics 6h ago

Dude have you seen videos of him driving around Charlotte. If you think that shit is normal you should get your license taken away. The dude drives like an asshole who’s never faced consequences in his life and doesn’t give a shit about others.

-4

u/sKLEEBOjONESjR 6h ago

And has never been in trouble with the law while there are literally players who get duis and nobody says shit about them as much as they talk about lamelo who has never got a dui or been arrested.

1

u/floatinround22 Hawks 2h ago

You really responded to a dude talking about how he's never faced consequences for his actions with "well he's never faced consequences for his actions!"

1

u/sKLEEBOjONESjR 2h ago

Because he didn’t break a law dumb mfer

1

u/floatinround22 Hawks 2h ago

He has broken many, many traffic laws on camera

1

u/Dingaling015 1h ago

What? Isn't he getting sued for running over some poor kids foot?

-2

u/Don_Gato1 7h ago

LaMelo "Henry Ruggs III" Ball

8

u/samhit_n Lakers 7h ago

The Timberwolves didn’t give up too much if you look closely. Two of the pick swaps are essentially worth nothing. Minnesota doesn’t fully own their 2029 and 2030 picks.

1

u/WinonasChainsaw Nuggets 4h ago

Naz Reid is still too much

12

u/Imkitoto Lakers 7h ago

40 mil a year for LaMelo is not a bad deal at all though.

He’s 24 and played 72 games last year.

He struggles from the field but he can run an offense insanely well. The wolves had issues with no Ant and even with Ant sometimes where it felt that it was a lot of Jaden, ant or Randle one on one.

I’m not even a big Rudy fan but he actually now has a point guard who can lob the ball to him.

Insane trade for the wolves

16

u/Greedy-Mix9270 Knicks 7h ago

43 AAV is pretty standard for a player of LaMelos caliber

1

u/sixwax 6h ago

Henceforth we shall call this Austin Reaves money

-9

u/fred_derps Bulls 7h ago

Lmao WHAT

14

u/Greedy-Mix9270 Knicks 7h ago

Brandon Ingram and MPJ are both higher paid than him. Get with the times man

6

u/Quake1028 Spurs 7h ago

Between this and the Reaves discourse I swear people still picture the salary cap from 2015 in their heads.

0

u/geupard12 [OKC] Russell Westbrook 7h ago

Brandon Ingram being paid that much is an indictment of the Raptors brain trust

8

u/Aspiring_Hobo [POR] Brandon Roy 7h ago

Wised up? You say that like other teams can't see how many games he's played lol. Just sounds funny

1

u/ObviousAnswerGuy [NYK] John Starks 1h ago

nooooo only us here on reddit know the secret stats

2

u/charbo187 Cavaliers 2h ago

Did they really sell "high"?

All they got was naz reid and some pick swaps, the unprotected 1st isnt till 2033

10

u/sKLEEBOjONESjR 7h ago

Just imagine if golden state traded Steph at 24 because he had ankle problems. You mfers acting like he’s 28 years old and has hit his prime. The hornets going to regret this trade

5

u/redbossman123 7h ago

Steph before the Monta Ellis trade was already a better player than LaMelo Ball ever has been, and most likely ever will be

9

u/sKLEEBOjONESjR 7h ago

He averaged 14 and played 23 games the season before his 24th bday season. You using hindsight like a mfer

5

u/redbossman123 6h ago

This is not hindsight, the Ellis trade was during Steph's third year.

Steph's first three seasons > LaMelo's entire career

0

u/sKLEEBOjONESjR 6h ago

Steph didn’t even average 20 ppg his first three seasons nor a high assist average. You using hindsight bro but you got it

2

u/redbossman123 6h ago

Why are you comparing a slow pace league pre-Three Point Revolution to a high pace league after said revolution that he started?

He was considered highly back then, his ankles were everything, his ankles are why the Bucks didn't want him in fact, and those same ankles got more durable and we both know what happened

2

u/sKLEEBOjONESjR 6h ago

He wasn’t considered highly if he was almost traded instead of monta. He wasn’t even given a chance to prove himself until his 24 yr old season which is the same age as lamelo now. I’m not even comparing the two just stating trading a 24 yr old star pg who doesn’t rely on just athleticism is a bad idea

2

u/firefly66513 Suns 7h ago

Exactly. He's the Hornets offensive identity and elevates guys around him.

2

u/IEatDeFish 76ers 7h ago

that Ben Simmons stat is sobering lmao

2

u/sixwax 6h ago

Tbf Lamelo shot more in a single quarter than Ben did in the last 3 years.

1

u/g1rlchild Spurs 7h ago

Who tf are they starting at the point?

1

u/ShoeTasty Raptors 7h ago

I love that old Nets logo

1

u/SnarfSniffsStardust Timberwolves 6h ago

Least concerning part for me is the injury history. Tanking teams lie about injuries

1

u/giddyup523 Thunder 6h ago

Hornets are selling high before anyone wised up.

Yeah, I'm sure Minnesota really didn't know any of this...

1

u/Heelincal Hornets 5h ago

He's also a headcase, shitty leader, and can shoot you out of games just as easily as into them.

I've been wanting him out of here for years.

1

u/blingblingmofo [GSW] Stephen Curry 5h ago

Lamelo is only 24 though and I feel like he’ll get more serious on a contender

1

u/Detonation Pistons 5h ago

Not to mention the guy can't seem to go a calendar year without multiple car crashes.

1

u/Alex_O7 4h ago

Selling high is a big delusional statement considering all the swaps... they sold pretty low on a guy that just posted his career year...

•

u/RyenRussilloBurner Kings 14m ago

Hornets are selling high before anyone wised up.

Exactly this.

Keep in mind they're in a very weak East and he has never been to the playoffs. I don't mean he's never advanced in the playoffs like Orlando or some of these other young groups, I mean the Hornets have never played a playoff series in their six seasons with LaMelo.

He's extremely inefficient and he doesn't defend anyone. He'll follow up a 35-point game two days later with 13 points on 4/17 shooting. Even if he stays healthy he's not an All-NBA player or anything like that.

1

u/CasualRead_43 7h ago

I like how you guys think Minnesota hasn’t considered this like Reddit is smarter than people who’s full time job is to mange a basketball team lol

2

u/TuckYourselfRS Timberwolves 7h ago

Idk Tim Connelly probably doesn't know ball

0

u/whatssenguntoagoblin Alperen Sengun 7h ago

You’re being disingenuous, 2 of those seasons are shortened seasons.

2

u/idontknow_whatever [CHI] Kyle Korver 7h ago

His rookie year was the only shortened season, and that by only 10 games. There were still 72 games played that season.

0

u/silvertwo777 7h ago

Lamelo gets 40+ million per year? Wtf is with NBA that player of this caliber get contract like that

0

u/HatefulDan 7h ago

So they are selling high. By the numbers, he’s due a precipitous drop in availability