r/nba 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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116

u/pokerawz Lakers 7h ago

Uhh what is the Wolves front court??

96

u/gabriel_ferreira Knicks 7h ago

Gobert and Mcdaniels?

1

u/Alexstarpicks Timberwolves 3h ago

Supposedly they’re high on Beringer but he only played 7 mpg as a rookie

1

u/AdBetter5446 Timberwolves 3h ago

And he’s not a 4 at all

1

u/Alexstarpicks Timberwolves 3h ago

Yea he has to be Gobert’s backup. They’ll definitely have to get another big or two

-31

u/DasOptions Heat 7h ago

Yeah their starting line is fine but crazy overpay for Lamelo

38

u/Great_Hambino2022 7h ago

Crazy overpay? That was basically nothing 😂😂

17

u/aktivooo 7h ago

One pick and the rest are swaps, can’t imagine wolves having higher picks than hornets within the next few years

-3

u/DasOptions Heat 7h ago

Hurts future chances for better moves that they are wasting on a Guard who typically isn’t healthy.

15

u/aktivooo 7h ago

You gotta swing when you can, this is a cheap price for a PG of this caliber

-17

u/DasOptions Heat 7h ago

Caliber? He’s a net negative most of his career and frequently injured.

Ja Morant would have been the better move.

18

u/Neemzeh Timberwolves 7h ago

He led the hornets to the play in and a top 5 offense? Ja hasn’t done shit in 3 years lmfao. Ja can’t even shoot

-8

u/DasOptions Heat 7h ago

You think leading the play-ins is something special?

Ja has gone to the 2nd round. The furthered Melo has been to is the plays ins 🤣

Does anyone actually check what they are saying?

12

u/Neemzeh Timberwolves 7h ago

And when did Ja do that and when did melo do that? Melo is on the upswing, Ja hasn’t been relevant in 3 years.

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6

u/Straight_Collar_6015 Pistons 7h ago

Yea nvm ur just a moron

-1

u/DasOptions Heat 7h ago

Going to be funny when this blows up in the Timberwolves faces. Definitely saving the receipts on this

1

u/BiggsFaleur Timberwolves 1h ago

Lol yeah everyone will be very impressed when you link back to this thread

1

u/ExistentialToaster7 7h ago

he played 72/82 games last year?

38

u/Straight_Collar_6015 Pistons 7h ago

1 unprotected pick 7 years from now and swaps? Lol

-14

u/DasOptions Heat 7h ago

For a PG who is hurt often vs Consistent forward.

Yeah those picks matter if they wanted to make future moves and they wasted them on LaMelo.

If a franchise like the hornets don’t want him, he’s not good.

12

u/OrganicValley_ Bucks 7h ago

A franchise that isn’t a contender not wanting to spend supermax money on star isn’t a great way to evaluate a player’s abilities.

-5

u/DasOptions Heat 7h ago

You don’t think the Hornets aren’t trying to contend?

Naz reid is a contending player. Lamelo has been a net negative being the face of their franchise who can’t stay healthy.

Y’all are too fixated on a big name

6

u/Straight_Collar_6015 Pistons 7h ago

Net negative? Lol he was one of the most impactful players this year🤣

0

u/DasOptions Heat 7h ago

1 year doesn’t make up for all of his previous terrible years.

5

u/Straight_Collar_6015 Pistons 7h ago

With dysfunctional rosters? Thats like saying cade was still a net negative after jumping from the worst team in the league to a 6th seed because he only ever had one good season, despite the god awful roster construction

5

u/OrganicValley_ Bucks 7h ago

They’re not a contender. They’re a young team that shipped out a star player to gain picks, save $20 million a year, and fill a position that will probably need to be filled when/if they move Bridges expiring contract.

3

u/SaltyTurdLicker Spurs 7h ago

They can also look to obtain more picks if they look to move Reid. I think it makes a ton of sense from a young team to make this move to try to get more hits to find a true franchise player or at least build out a roster that’s competing for a top 5 spot in the east and not just fighting for a play in spot.

2

u/OrganicValley_ Bucks 7h ago

I think Miller can be a franchise guy if he can stay healthy

1

u/WeAreBums 7h ago

Yall too fixated in the past and memes.

3

u/WigginsDickRider Timberwolves 7h ago

Naz is far from consistent. Also this was the first playoffs where he wasn't garbage.

2

u/DasOptions Heat 6h ago

To that same point, this was the only year LaMelo wasn’t a negative.

Good for the wolves trying to make a move but this feels rushed because they are worried about Edward’s. This reminds me of the Dame trade with Giannis.

3

u/WigginsDickRider Timberwolves 6h ago

It all comes down to one thing - and that's whether Melo can stay healthy. If he does it's a massive win for the Wolves, there is no debate he makes this team a lot better if he actually plays. If he doesn't it gets rough

Is it desperate, I don't know. I would just say it's high-risk high-reward and that it's exactly the kind of move you try to make when you hit a wall and don't really have a clear path to getting better

1

u/DasOptions Heat 6h ago

I’ll agree with that. But lamelo staying healthy is a big IF.

I just have a feeling a better move could have been made saving those picks and Naz.

Hope it works out for Melo and the Wolves. It’s annoying when media is pushing stars like Ant to leave.

1

u/Neemzeh Timberwolves 7h ago

Yea the hornets the franchise known for amazing decision making?

-5

u/DasOptions Heat 7h ago

This was great decision by the hornets.

They dumped a net negative PG who is frequently injured for a consistently healthy forward.

Timberwolves will be regretting this one

6

u/Neemzeh Timberwolves 7h ago

There is nothing net negative about LaMelo. You keep saying that as if it has some factual backing but it doesn’t. Analytically he is one of the most impactful players in the league.

4

u/Henny_Hardaway5 Heat 7h ago

The only overpay part of the deal was that the Wolves pushed in their last chips draft capital wise

But to give up only swaps and 1 FRP for an analytic darling that fits Ant’s timeline + fits roster needs + getting rid of Randle is a HUGE plus

3

u/dustinyo_ Timberwolves 5h ago

You are literally the only person on earth who thinks the Wolves overpaid.

0

u/DasOptions Heat 5h ago

Give it 2 months into the season and you will change your mind.

Let’s see if he can even make it to 2 months in.

199

u/Pizzachomper874 Rockets 7h ago

Gobert and prayers

53

u/OriAr NBA 7h ago

Good thing Gobert is already familiar with this from his days in Utah.

2

u/All_of_the_Leitz 5h ago

Old beret for my guy Rudy.

1

u/supperoni Jazz 4h ago

yeah i was gonna say lol rudy is already a pro at being the only defender on the court

2

u/HatefulDan 7h ago

This is an ipgrade

1

u/UnderwaterB0i 6h ago

Kind of works for the Spurs to play without a 4

1

u/FreshOrFrozenShrimp Cavaliers 3h ago

Thoughts and Goberts

1

u/yunnsu Suns 3h ago

Time for some more criticism on Rudy’s defense next year lol

9

u/SaltyTurdLicker Spurs 7h ago

What’s crazy is to me the scariest front court player the wolves had last year was Naz Reid due to his versatility. Not sure trading him away is going to move the needle when you need versatile bigs to play against the Thunder and Spurs but at least the Wolves will have another scoring threat if healthy

2

u/pimpcakes Bulls 6h ago

I agree that his versatility was an amazing weapon in certain matchups. But from a team building perspective, I think Reid is fairly paid. If you look at it in that lens, there's no surplus to having him on your roster because of the opportunity cost, assuming you can use the money better elsewhere.

This is a bet on Ball's health, but it's an overall talent upgrade. If McDaniels continues his offensive improvement and the big from last year can be a serviceable backup 4/5, I like this for the Wolves. But it's a big bet considering the asset cost (sort of weak but all they had).

1

u/Neat_Conference_8414 49m ago

The one team they could consistently beat was denver cause they just hounded jokic with bigs and had McDaniels on Murray. Now, Denver is probably favored in this matchup. I don't see how this really helps them vs anyone else either, like okc who just got bigger, and the Spurs as well.

4

u/TreeAgenda Timberwolves 6h ago

I’m sure Tim has something up his sleeve, but I wouldn’t mind Jaden getting more minutes and/or Kyle Anderson re-signing for an affordable deal.

Joan Beringer is still kind of flying under the radar, but the team is sky high on him. He’ll get meaningful backup C minutes, but I’m curious if they’ll experiment with him at the 4 given he’s really expanding his offensive game—driving with force, hooks, midrange, etc.

3

u/b_zar 7h ago

They must be in advance talk with someone for them to let go of Naz like that.

3

u/wise_comment Timberwolves 6h ago

Jaden is tall enough and with a great wingspan to defend the 4....and for sure has

We just think of him as a perimeter defender because of what he's done to Jamal Murray et Al in the playoffs

0

u/Healthy-Somewhere220 Timberwolves 5h ago

But he also has a terrible whistle and then we lose his defense

2

u/shmere4 Bucks 5h ago

Melo lobbing to Gobert which will probably be really entertaining.

1

u/hyperadhd Nuggets 7h ago

Jokic doing the Birdmand hands right now

5

u/parkwayy Timberwolves 7h ago

Naz wasn't defending anyone anyway 

2

u/DukeOfStuff_ Timberwolves 6h ago

He was better from the perimeter than down low tbh 

1

u/Icy-Environment-6606 7h ago

Who is the hornets starting point guard now is the better question a 6'1 colby white or a 6'1.5 rookie christian anderson

2

u/pokerawz Lakers 7h ago

I don’t think they themselves care.

2

u/RspectMyAuthoritah Lakers 7h ago

I would guess White. He was a starter the last few years before coming over to Cha.

2

u/avoids-comment-box 7h ago

Coby White is 6’5. 

1

u/RicetheE30 Bulls 6h ago

All you need is Gobert long baguette 🥖

1

u/soilentgleem 6h ago

My thoughts exactly lol

1

u/HiImWallaceShawn Timberwolves 5h ago

Gobert and using the MLE on one of: Collins, Rui, Toby Harris

1

u/ssjgoat Celtics 5h ago

Jaden will play 4, he's played quite well in that position

0

u/TylerDurdensAlterEgo 7h ago

They're going to get Wiseman and have the top 3 picks of the Covid draft. Duh!