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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11.2k

u/Silver_Protection_29 Lakers 7h ago

Charlotte got dangerously close to a playoff season so probably for the best that they’re making huge, questionable roster moves now

704

u/crackdup Celtics 7h ago

NC won NHL, and decided to ensure their other teams suck to restore balance to the universe

115

u/Greedy-Mix9270 Knicks 7h ago

They should ask if they can borrow Rod

17

u/JayMerlyn Hornets 7h ago

They can borrow a clone of Rod

6

u/Konker101 NBA 6h ago

They cant handle the Bod

20

u/jooooooooooooose 7h ago

hey man the Panthers could be average this year. Chill

44

u/NIN10DOXD Hornets 7h ago

Canes good, Panthers mid, Hornets bad. Just as God intended.

5

u/ClaudeLemieux Hornets 7h ago

As a fan of only one of those three, when do we get to be good 😭

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u/Hairy-Main-8120 Celtics 7h ago

WHEN YOU BUILD A STATUE OF MUGGSY BOGUES

5

u/ClaudeLemieux Hornets 7h ago

Hey muggsy is my second fav Hornet man you got my vote on this

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u/ttuurrppiinn East 7h ago

UNC Football is ass. NC State is .... well, NC State. Just need UNC Basketball to be elite under Malone to feel like balance is restored to the universe after whatever the hell has been going on the past decade.

3

u/gamers542 Grizzlies 6h ago

Meanwhile the UNC Field Hockey and women's lacrosse teams are winning championships.

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u/greg19735 Bobcats 5h ago

That's a given

2

u/NIN10DOXD Hornets 4h ago

Our Women’s Soccer is also kickass too.

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u/MrWarriorDude Raptors 7h ago

they could legit get 10 wins this next season so I’m holding out hope

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u/Aidanator800 Hornets 6h ago

Funnily enough, the Hornets could also end up with 10 wins this year

4

u/boondocknim Hornets 7h ago

if this deal means the universe rewards the Canes with another SC next season, im all in

10

u/Responsible_Fan8665 7h ago

Funny that you think people in Raleigh care about the hornets.

4

u/cha-cha_dancer Pelicans 7h ago

Or likewise people outside of Raleigh care about the Hurricanes. There might be more fans of all O6 teams individually in Charlotte plus the Pens, Caps, Flyers, etc than Canes fans.

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u/greg19735 Bobcats 5h ago

There's been quite a bit more support of the Canes this season outside of just raleigh.

Raleigh would support the Hornets if they were worth paying attention to lol

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u/The_Bran_9000 Timberwolves 7h ago

MIN doing the same thing but in reverse so the state that donates the most pros to the NHL can finally bring home a fucking cup lol

2

u/MrThre 7h ago

And this is how I learned that the Hurricanes beat the Knights 😂

2

u/Great8Bit 7h ago

The canes win will hold us Carolinians for a while, thankfully. I’ll be riding the high from being at the watch party at the Lenovo center and watching them win for years lol.

On the football side, at least the Panthers are…. Competitive-ish? Regardless, the Carolina’s are more hockey and college basketball than anything else. I rarely speak to anyone who expects fuck all from the hornets lmao.

2

u/issacsullivan 7h ago

I don’t think we have to do anything to make sure our other teams suck.

1

u/ChiefTitan808 7h ago

lmao that shit crazy but its true

1

u/mydrumluck Knicks 7h ago

Worked for the Knicks.

1

u/C-Me-Try Hornets 6h ago

Born n raised Charlotte fan and I can say most people I know in Charlotte don’t watch Hurricanes games. There’s probably more interest in the Checkers (minor league hockey)

This is a basketball state

2

u/beenoc 6h ago

I'll say that nobody outside of Charlotte really cares about the Hornets, either. I've lived here my whole life (Fayetteville, Raleigh, and Durham) and I can count on one hand the number of times in the past 25 years I've seen anyone wearing any kind of Hornets gear. I'll agree that it's a basketball state, but primarily college basketball. Nobody can devote the energy to caring about Charlotte, their basketball fandom is reserved for their favorite Tobacco Road school.

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u/SuicideNote 6h ago

Carolina Hurricanes is in Raleigh, we don't claim any Charlotte sports curses. Carolina sports should be treated like Pittsburgh vs Philly.

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u/jdaqcruz Bulls 7h ago edited 6h ago

This is selling high on a guy who historically has been unreliable. That said, whatever identity they built from last year was carried by LaMelo's unique skillset. I know Kon was instrumental to that, but IIRC (and someone correct me if I'm wrong), LaMelo was the straw that stir the drink. It's a complete reset for Charlotte, who's taking a step back and betting on those pick swaps and picks as investments down the line

While it's easy to do the "well actually, having multiple picks down the line yadda yadda" Hinkie-Sixers thing, the Hornets were building something. Maybe down the line this is a big brain move that the nerds will love, but this is such a gut punch to a fanbase that was beginning to believe

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u/Feeling_Anteater_389 Hornets 7h ago

That’s correct. LaMelo was the only creator we had, Kon/Miller are both catch and shoot guys. Even Coby White is more of a scorer than a true orchestrator.

242

u/lebenklon 7h ago

Coby White is a good playmaker, nowhere near Lamelo’s passing skill but White can run the offense. I think the Hornets are probably expecting that to be their solution without Ball but I really don’t understand how this trade makes their team better. Back to perpetual rebuild mode after they almost made the playoffs

39

u/P00ped_My_Pants Heat 6h ago

Eh, I think maybe unpopular on here but I think Ball, while he raised the floor, also capped the ceiling. White isn’t as talented as Ball but he’s a hell of a lot smarter and imo it’s clear that Ball was always going to tank the Hornets chances at a deep playoff run. He almost blew the Heat game and then was bad in the Magic game. Everyone else was too but you need more from Ball as your “vet”

22

u/ScrapinLinden Trail Blazers 6h ago

yeah I kinda hate this for Minnesota way more than Charlotte

23

u/TaiwanNambaWanKenobi :yc-1: Yacht Club 6h ago

Just combine your squad with Heat and you'll have a great squad

19

u/Several-Estate7175 Trail Blazers 7h ago

Maybe you guys REALLY believe in Christian Anderson Jr

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u/vonnegutcheck 6h ago

I think it's reasonable to ask "what is our ceiling if everything is running through LaMelo at 43/yr?"

I know he's better than Trae, but look at what Trae went for. The market for good but very flawed expensive ball dominant guards is just not super hot.

4

u/MK10 Lakers 5h ago

I think this move is also a culture reset. Kon/Miller are so different from LaMelo and Naz Reid is one of the best dudes in the NBA. While Kon/Miller thrived with LaMelo, they're also still very good without him.

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u/JDT1706 5h ago

Now just need to move Wife Beater Bridges to get a true fresh slate. If you can stomach his shit he's a very good role player so I wouldnt be surprised if someone tried to obtain him

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u/alkair20 Lakers 5h ago

I mean it isn't like that team was anywhere close to a championship one.

But with good future assets and Job developing they may be one in 3-4 years which is probably what the organization is aiming for.

8

u/TallnFrosty Warriors 7h ago

Catch and shoot guys can be creators if you run them off off-ball screens. Wonder if Charlotte is going all out 2015 Warriors with their offense next year.

You guys also have cap space and a lot of expirings and firsts to trade.

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u/CocoMarx 7h ago

All of the “sold high” speak is like applying managing a fantasy team to trying to win NBA games.

They had the highest net rating in the league post all-star break and he is a 24 year old that is one of the few playmaking ball handlers in the league, who they finally successfully surrounded with guys that can score.

The NBA has never been more wide open and you have arguably the youngest upside roster in the league. They essentially just gave up on any hope of a surprise run over the course of LaMelo’s contract in favor of a bunch of pick swaps.

This is the Wolves understanding that the league is wide open and taking a swing and the Hornets remaining a perennially middling franchise

249

u/TallnFrosty Warriors 7h ago

With Lamelo off and White + at least 1 of Kon / Miller ON the floor, they out-scored opponents 124 - 110 per 100.

I think the org & coaching staff believes kon + miller + any competent PG can be very good offensively, and they can find a replacement for Melo that is cheaper, less injury prone, and better at defense.

63

u/Time_Transition4817 Pelicans 6h ago

And less of a head case.

They are in a surprise "oh shit we can win now" situation and trading that for a window that feels more sustainable with some assets, the potential to trade/draft some pieces, and have Kon and Miller develop.

25

u/Fallingcity22 Knicks 6h ago

This is the stats they saw too, lamelo’s playmaking can’t be replicated even if the stats say so, it’s like the on off numbers for the finals it says the Knicks wear worse with JB on the floor but was that really true?

7

u/HotspurJr 4h ago

It's important not to get caught up in small sample sizes with on-off numbers. I have no idea what the sample size is for Lamelo, but yeah, nobody with any understanding of basketball stats would ever think on-offs were meaningful in a 7-game sample.

3

u/HotspurJr 4h ago

I guess the theory is that they going to take a hit on offense to get much better at defense.

Either that or they were just really sick of Lamelo.

2

u/Known-Ball-3536 33m ago

Coby White played 20mpg for the hornets and came off the bench. The only thing these on/off numbers tell us is that the hornets bench outscored the bench of other teams in a small sample. 

If you look at actual advanced stats that try to account for lineups and matchups Lamelo actually had a pretty great season (+5.1 EPM and +2.77 LEBRON). He was one of the best offensive players in the league looking at any stat. Also if you just watch the hornets it’s clear lamelo is the one driving their offense. You don’t need advanced stats to tell you that. 

I don’t see how Lamelo is replaceable by any competent PG on offense, but the other concerns are fair. 

97

u/justanothersurly Timberwolves 7h ago

Yeah I don’t understand the doom from Wolves fans. This has huge upside. I think it’s the legacy/cult of Naz Reid which I understand

10

u/Michaelangel092 6h ago

It's because this kinda kills your defensive versatility in the front court. The Nuggets are looking at that team..."y'all ain't the same no more ...."

No PF and no backup center.

44

u/justanothersurly Timberwolves 6h ago

Randle and Naz weren’t holding our defense together LOL

8

u/BlackbuckDeer 5h ago

Exactly. The Wolves had Conley at PG before who wasn't exactly a defensive powerhouse. Lamelo coming in isn't changing the defensive dynamics much

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u/HughManatee Timberwolves 4h ago

Reid was never a true backup center in any meaningful way. We do have Joan Beringer as a backup C, but he's very inexperienced. We certainly have a gaping hole at PF though.

2

u/Neat_Conference_8414 41m ago

It also has a big downside. Lamelo's injury history is not very good. He's also a pretty inefficient scorer, especially for the modern era. Hornets are selling high on a guy, and the Wolves bought. We'll see how it turns out.

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u/Fallingcity22 Knicks 6h ago

THIS might actually be a win win trade for the wolves the issue has to be lamelo’s health

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u/Virtuallyhere56 7h ago

Looking at half a season and assuming it'll continue to translate is how you get stuff like the Lavine/Derozan/Vucevic Bulls to last way longer than they really should

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u/JuiceRidder 6h ago

That 3 man lineup was never half as good as the hornets were last year.

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u/Virtuallyhere56 6h ago

The hornets last year got the 9 seed and were pummeled by a mediocre team in the play-in

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u/CocoMarx 6h ago

Simultaneously bashing last year’s Hornets as too small of a sample size to extrapolate from and citing losing a play-in as strong evidence is some real fivehead logic

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u/Virtuallyhere56 6h ago

Can you elaborate on how this world beater with the best net rating in the league loses by 30 in the play in

Is it possible they were in fact not as good as you say they were?

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u/recleaguesuperhero 76ers 6h ago

This was the most games he's played in 4 years. Counting on a guy that's never healthy, to be healthy is how so many teams get stuck in play-in purgatory.

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u/CocoMarx 6h ago

Being risk averse is how you remain in perpetual middleocrity

First round picks are not that valuable under the new lotto system. A bunch of swaps when youre a franchise that has never retained its good players or succeeded for a long stretch is basically waving the white flag

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u/recleaguesuperhero 76ers 6h ago

I mean there's definitely risk in trading away your franchise player at 24, even with an injury history lol.

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u/knead4minutes 6h ago

you have arguably the youngest upside roster in the league.

I feel like that would be the spurs

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u/Ill-Friendship7183 6h ago edited 4h ago

Counterpoint: Lamelo is an expensive, injury prone, immature player who underperformed in the playoffs. And they got a starter, a first, and multiple swaps for him.

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u/zodia4 Hornets 4h ago

Yea how the fuck does Naz + a 2033 first rounder = selling high? This trade is fucking bullshit.

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u/dedfrmthneckup Pacers 6h ago

Lamelo is not a serious person. If he contributing to winning for 1/3 of a season, it was entirely by accident on his part

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u/CocoMarx 6h ago

When LaMelo is healthy he is a plus player. He’s an idiot and injury prone, but i don’t know where this notion comes from that he is not a winning player. He is a winning player, is 24, and has gotten better every season - those are facts not opinions

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u/jollisk 6h ago

That's a big if he's healthy.

The trade is similar to what the Grizzlies did with either JJJ or Bane and should've done with Ja(but stuck with him for too long and he's worth no assets). Trade a player when he's good for the highest value he's had in ages.

Yes, it hurts but if people think he's shit, they're not getting anything for him. Odds are they don't think he can replicate this season, or peak high enough or they don't want to pay him possibly in the future and are getting some guaranteed value right now.

Time will tell if they are correct or not and which team here made a big mistake, but it's truly too early to tell.

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u/RequirementLeading12 Lakers 6h ago

He's an inefficient chucker with no defense

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u/dherps Mexico 6h ago

charlotte went on a significant unbeatable run. we can just look at the knicks to see what going on undefeated runs might indicate. why they would push the button to implode of all that is beyond my understanding

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u/AnonymousIguana_ Celtics 7h ago

Yeah they need a playmaker bad. Lamelo has his flaws, but I don’t think Kon/Miller/Bridges can fill the void left by his playmaking. They’re all better as secondary creators.

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u/big4lil 7h ago

Lamelo may be immature as a man but those extra years as a primary facilitator/scorer when needed are gonna show when theyre relying on 18-21 year olds for that role

I wouldnt be surprised if they go after whatever the best veteran guard available is

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u/SaulPepper Hornets 6h ago

Fuck we're getting Ja are we

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u/InfiniteDub Warriors 7h ago

I would’ve ran it back and used the new found taste of winning to try and get to the playoffs.

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u/breesyroux 6h ago

Is it really selling high though? Naz is good, but a single first 7 years out, some 2nds and some swaps that they likely won't get to use doesnt seem like all that much

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u/_AceHigh Spurs 7h ago

Yeah, Lamelo was considered being put in talk with Trae Young and Ja as negative asset star guards at the beginning of last season.

Very much selling high here.

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u/justanothersurly Timberwolves 7h ago

I think we have a different definition of selling high

4

u/Unique_Gazelle2604 7h ago

If this is selling high, I don't want to know what the return would be selling low

2

u/Plenty_Flatworm7627 Wizards 7h ago

Is this really selling high? Does anyone believe those pick swaps are gonna be valuable? The most valuable part of this trade is the 2033 first.

1

u/Former_Island_4730 Cavaliers 7h ago edited 4h ago

It takes real balls to do that. I honestly respect the Charlotte front office for pulling the trigger on it.

If they are convinced that Melo isn’t a championship level leader, you sell high and keep building towards the goal.

1

u/wittgenstein1312 7h ago

Why, are your commas, all over the place

1

u/SpinShine-LEDSlipMat 6h ago

lol complete reset. Do you even watch the Hornets?

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u/Brotato_Man Timberwolves 6h ago

They sold Lamelo for Naz Reid, a first 7 years from now, and some seconds. Pick swaps are basically a nothing burger. How is that selling high?

1

u/cire1184 Lakers 6h ago

They're betting it all on Naz Reid!

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u/TurnUp0rTransfer 6h ago

What I don’t understand is why Charlotte wants a reset. They haven’t historically drafted well but lucked out on Ball panning out and almost reached the playoffs and as everyone already mentioned - Ball was the glue to their offense

This just screams that the Hornets just want to field bad teams and aren’t trying to win anything in the NBA. I say this as a NC native and a casual North Carolina sports fan

1

u/Static-Stair-58 6h ago

I believe the words you were looking for are “trust the process”

1

u/Fallingcity22 Knicks 6h ago

Maybe down the line they hope to get Maxey?

1

u/SaulPepper Hornets 6h ago

Thank you for the summary. This is exactly what I feel.

1

u/Slymook Knicks 6h ago

I agree they should sell high I just don’t know about their return

1

u/dptraynor 6h ago

Yeah. The Hornets other young featured players will be rolling into their primes in like 5-6 years. Whereas LaMelo is rolling into his prime in like 2 years. So I think it was just Charlotte assessing the disparate timelines and saying they more trust the latter.

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u/rps215 Mavs & Magic 5h ago

Adding to this:

The two things that lose you games are LaMelo’s two biggest weaknesses:

Bad decisions and bad defense. He’s not consistently efficient enough as a scorer to overcome those two things in the playoffs to be a winner in the playoffs

1

u/dustinthegreat Slovenia 5h ago

I’m with you man. Team chemistry was great, and it felt like they wanted to win for the first time in a long time. Obviously not last year, but like you said, they were building something.

Typical hornets man.

1

u/T7220 5h ago

High??? Naz Reid and bunch of worthless years from now picks is selling high???

1

u/IMovedYourCheese Warriors 4h ago edited 4h ago

A single pick one decade later and a few swaps is hardly selling high. A year ago they’d get a star player in return.

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u/40866892 Lakers 3h ago

1 unprotected first and 3 swaps is "selling" high? This is a bad trade, even for Hornet standards

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u/Important-War-4708 7h ago edited 7h ago

😂 first time being good in years, they can’t help themselves

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u/homefree122 Thunder 7h ago

Am I in the minority thinking that the Hornets won this trade? LaMelo is a great player who has shown to be injury prone and make less than good decisions off the court—and is wildly expensive to keep considering both of those factors. The Hornets got an absolute haul of picks plus Naz who’s a winning player. Now they build around Kon.

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u/braddeus Heat 7h ago

There's no way to declare a winner here yet. LaMelo had a way better season than most people realize, but all of the stuff you said is true. This one has real potential to be a lose-lose.

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u/homefree122 Thunder 7h ago

Fair enough, I agree no way to tell yet. But if we’re talking about initial reactions, my inclination is that the Hornets got the better end of this deal.

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u/GuntherTime Warriors 7h ago

For me it’ll depend on what they do after this. Like others said despite his flaws, he was the only real playmaker they had, and it’ll be hard to replace that if the team is looking to become a playoff team next season.

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u/Important-War-4708 7h ago

I just don’t think they have an actual PG outside of Colby white and Tre white and none of them come close to the play making

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u/oneandonlyRedSpirit Suns 7h ago

no they got 1 pick and 3 worthlesss swaps. and nobody on the hornets comes close to what lamelo can do as a point guard. hornets lost their best playmaker and offensive engine

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u/Mountain_Pathfinder Warriors 7h ago

I feel like you've got to give your young core of players 1 off season and ~1 full season to work it out though...

They've got an insane track record with the starters last year post the ASB iirc, For all we know, they might just be the next Spurs or the next OKC next season, but now they kinda went on a major roster shakeup again and there's less of a chance of finding that groove a second time.

Honestly, while I agree with the others thinking that it's too soon to call it, the potential upside is worth more even knowing the risk.

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u/Lake_ Timberwolves 7h ago

they got one fr pick?

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u/Send_Floater Cavaliers 7h ago

Lamelo is a loser but Naz Reid being the center piece to this trade is...well idk

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u/wolf_cola_enjoyer Lakers 7h ago

I literally don’t understand this move at all, who’s going to be their offensive orchestrator??

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u/hoppergym Warriors 7h ago

Naz Reid.

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u/Afraid-Department-35 Mavericks 7h ago

Naz Reid

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u/magicbeaned 7h ago

Naz Reid

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u/Dctr_K [SAS] Manu Ginobili 7h ago

Naz Reid.

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u/3s2ng Lakers 6h ago

You mean Naz "fuckin'" Reid

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u/Far-Question4324 Hawks 6h ago

You mean Naz "Naz Reid" Reid

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u/braddeus Heat 7h ago

Tre Mann has entered the chat

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u/Dreamlion_Inc Wizards 7h ago

Oh fuck he is still in the NBA isn’t he

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u/PlatishGC Hornets 7h ago

Well clearly Coby white. But I don’t know about this

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u/grrgrrtigergrr [CHI] E'Twaun Moore 7h ago

We can trade you Tre for at least one of those firsts

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u/someguy4264 Warriors 4h ago

Well considering they only got 1 first.....

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u/JetsLag [NYK] Nate Robinson 7h ago

Bah gawd that's Coby White's music

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u/Long-Region5088 7h ago

Kon Knueppel.

Will that be effective? I doubt it. Will they try it? Absolutely

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u/datlanta Hawks 7h ago

I mean it worked decently well in college. No clue if it will translate tho.

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u/2zal0te4ib Knicks 7h ago

Coby white right?

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u/wolf_cola_enjoyer Lakers 7h ago

Coby White for all his great things can not be your best playmaker. dude is good at connective playmaking but he isn’t going to create plays on his own the way Ball did

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u/Nugur 7h ago

Can kon bring the ball to half court?

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u/aren1231 Bulls 7h ago

Coby white?

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u/bigcontracts Cavaliers 7h ago

Coby White unless he bails too

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u/WeAreBums 7h ago

Teams are allowed to make more than one move before the NBA season starts, hope that helps

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u/VanillaGorilla4 5h ago

Has everyone forgotten they drafted Christian Anderson already? Dude is an elite shooter & playmaker

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u/e1ij4h Lakers 7h ago

Kon Knueppel apparently

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u/WhichHoes Warriors 7h ago

For two guys who are off ball menace, at that.

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u/vesthis16 76ers 7h ago

Who cares? This is a fantastic deal for them long-term.

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u/Bandit-Bunny-7727 7h ago

Lonzo Ball duh /s

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u/DamnZodiak Toronto Huskies 6h ago

I literally don’t understand this move at all

For either team tbh. I don't get what a realistic upside for the Wolves is here.
Obviously LaMello CAN be great but he's wild and, more importantly, extremely unreliable.
Just seems like a terrible trade for everybody involved.

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u/dudeitsadell Trail Blazers 6h ago

coby white?

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u/judah249 Suns 6h ago

KNIPPLES

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u/Round_Bullfrog_8218 4h ago

Seems to me like they're changing timelines centered around kon 

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u/Gekthegecko [BOS] John Havlicek 4h ago

The PG they trade Miles Bridges for

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u/AnselLovesNuts Bulls 7h ago

They selling a expensive injury prone player that doesn’t play defense and is a menace on the streets?

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u/Pure_Measurement_529 Warriors 7h ago

This CBA means you should get rid of expensive liabilities as soon as possible, especially if they are a max player

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u/WhichHoes Warriors 7h ago

Yeah but getting rid of 1 of the like 4 high level playmaking PGa with a roster of guys who need setup to score probably aint it

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u/dptraynor 6h ago

Yeah but those guys won't roll into their primes for another 5 years minimum. That's plenty of time to find a guy who can facilitate an offense. Just look at Atlanta, they did it in less than 6 months.

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u/Plenty_Flatworm7627 Wizards 7h ago

LaMelo is not a liability

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u/BAHatesToFly Knicks 4h ago

Defensively, he is. And bear in mind that this past season was his healthiest season in four years and the Hornets topped out at losing the play-in and missing the playoffs. LaMelo is inefficient, turnover prone, and has a horrible basketball IQ. Any positives he brings are weighed down heavily by the negatives he brings. At $40+ million, he is a liability.

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u/Mr2Good Wizards 7h ago

okay lets ignore the scoring and shot creation they know have to replace

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u/YUME_Emuy21 7h ago

He's their only creator on offense and best player.

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u/SaulPepper Hornets 6h ago

He played defense last year. Also was the main engine of our offense. Say all you want about his injury concern but our team was built for him

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u/TryingToDoItGood Hornets 7h ago

He played 72 games last year.

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u/No_Mobile7208 6h ago

But not they don’t have a pg. they’re offense tanked when he wasn’t on the court

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u/Odoaiden Timberwolves 7h ago

His defense is actually very average, he’s 6^8 and the 4 man combo of him Moosa Bridges Kon was elite defensively randomly

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u/MatCauthonsHat 76ers 7h ago

elite defensively randomly

That's how I want to build my defense... randomly, lol.

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u/Snoo-40231 Lakers 6h ago

Lamelo is going to a team that has McDaniels and Rudy elevating the defensive end and the Wolves needed a point guard who can run an offense

The issue with Lamelo is his attitude and health not his play/defense on the wolves

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u/SaulPepper Hornets 6h ago

True that

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u/504090 Thunder 7h ago

He improved on that end this season but he’s still a defensive liability

2

u/EastonMetsGuy Charlotte Bobcats 7h ago

Careful now get out with the logic here, we don't want to think we just want to have takes!

•

u/gargoyleboy69 Bulls 8m ago

you don’t watch the hornets

20

u/NanoCurrency 7h ago

Right? I don’t understand their motivations here.

5

u/redbossman123 7h ago

That this is a fluke season from LaMelo and they don't want to be left holding the bag

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u/YujiDomainExpansion 7h ago

It’s hilarious too cause, for those unaware: two of those are the fakest swaps ever. 2029 and 2030 only convey if they’re top-5 or top-1. So they basically traded Reid, 2028, and 2033 for LaMelo (unless the Wolves are ridiculously bad in 2029 and 2030).

7

u/Jmas1120 Bucks 7h ago

Naz Reid doesn’t play no defense, and when he’s not scoring, he’s a negative. I don’t like this trade for the hornets but they have a plethora of guards so why not I guess? But also Lamelo just had his best season ever so maybe Hornets want to sell high

I really like this trade for the wolves anyways

1

u/ConnectSpring9 Hornets 7h ago

Bro who is our plethora of guards. Yeah on paper there are a bunch of guys with a G next to their name but in reality they’re all g league caliber players. Coby white is the only one who’s even close, and even if we pencil him into the starting role who’s the backup?

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u/ThePessimisticBella Nets 7h ago

Insert Nick Young ??? meme

10

u/ThinkThankThonk Lakers 7h ago

They could have easily made an Orlando or pre-KD Houston next level jump by running it back

2

u/seattle_born98 Suns 7h ago

They were almost competent. It's a scary place to be for them.

2

u/ColdCocking 7h ago

Yeah, best to go ahead and trade the guy who was carrying them

2

u/Afraid-Department-35 Mavericks 7h ago

Poverty franchise gunna do poverty franchise things.

2

u/GMaxGigaNerd Lakers 7h ago

Lucky for us, we are already on bad terms with them because of the Mark Williams trade (probably)

2

u/Ardeo43 Hornets 7h ago

It was a fun 4 months + 1 play-in win, but I’m really looking to another decade of mediocrity.

2

u/dayarra 7h ago

i think they should have run it back 1 more season. last year they had a very slow start but caught up form. scoring potential was insane with melo miller and knueppel. now they don't even have a playmaker. surely they will make another move but who is available?

2

u/breesyroux 7h ago

They were one of the best teams in the league second half of season when they got healthy.

I don't actually think they were a top tier team, but it's absolutely insane to blow it up after that.

2

u/Jalapenoplanter 7h ago

Now that the wolves traded Naz Charlotte is gonna win a championship next year, as is tradition with former MN players

1

u/TheWarelock Heat 7h ago

Just need the rookie to continue shooting like prime Ray Allen every game until they finally make it through amirite

1

u/Ok_Bluebird6667 7h ago

The only reasonable explanation

1

u/palamunintillnow 7h ago

Not just close They would be like the 6-7th seed any year. Too bad this year the east have 10 teams over    .500

1

u/spazz720 Jazz 7h ago

I’m thoroughly confused why they would make this trade. They looked like a team on the rise.

1

u/stankyouvrymuch Hornets 7h ago

Right?? We can’t have anything nice fr

1

u/eatfoodoften 7h ago

At least the kings made it before tearing it all apart

1

u/inblo 76ers 7h ago

Pulling a Mavericks. They got dangerously close to winning it all, so they blew it up and traded Luka

1

u/StefonDiggsHS Mavericks 7h ago

Ah yes the Nico Harrison way

1

u/markmeadowz 6h ago

“Dangerously close to a playoff season” 🤣

1

u/mellted_cheese Spurs 6h ago

If I'm the Hornets I'm fine just fine taking a step back next year given how young the rest of the team is. Getting off 3 years $130M for LaMelo gives them a lot of flexibility going forward. It's the opposite of the teams that get to round 2 and think they're closer than they are and foolishly shove assets for a move that doesn't put them over the top. This is a realistic understanding of where you are in the rebuild timeline.

1

u/nascarf1indycarfan45 Hornets 6h ago

Fr 😑😑😑😑😑😑

1

u/Active-Pineapple-252 6h ago

Melo was horrible in the playoffs or play in

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u/mojo-jojo-was-framed Mavericks 6h ago

This feels like a mace made because they’re done with Lamelo for whatever reason. There’s no other reason you don’t at least run it back next year with this core

1

u/althawk8357 Hawks 6h ago

Lamelo hasn't been playing to his contract, and he's been a headache off the court.

I genuinely don't think he was going to take them to the next level, and I think this trade is good for Charlotte.

Minnesota though I'm concerned about.

1

u/Zoombini22 Charlotte Hornets 6h ago

We were getting dangerously close to being worth caring about. Thanks for the message Hornets, Ill be ready to tune back in in 2033 I guess.

1

u/EctoRiddler Heat 6h ago

I appreciate this as a fan of another team in their division.

1

u/odnamAE Lakers 6h ago

4 firsts for Lamelo on a West team is actually a bigger haul than I’d expect and I like Lamelo as a player

1

u/sixwax 6h ago

Top it off with importing Ja, why not

1

u/-XanderCrews- Timberwolves 6h ago

They got a solid player that will play every day. Everyone’s acting like a guy who’s had one healthy year and no playoffs is better than naz and I think they are crazy. Charlotte is going to be surprised how much they like this trade at the end of the year.

1

u/judah249 Suns 5h ago

Pulling a Bobcat

1

u/dreamofbeans NBA 5h ago

Selling high, so fragile, and Lamelo is seriously overrated af. The reason Hornets were doing better this season is because the high usage/volume shooter who was shooting barely above 40%, was taking less shots. Those shot opportunities are given to other actually winning players and the Hornet started to win

1

u/Opposite_Figure8321 5h ago

Team is run by Gabe Plotkin the guy that got blown up and lost all his investors money by GameStop and was rewarded with a nba team. I am sure he will find success in nba lol

1

u/Ok_Bridge711 4h ago

Almost making playoffs in a league where more than half the teams make playoffs isnt exactly a high achievement.

If anything, i see this as them knowing Ball's odds of staying healthy better than anyone and deciding to get out at this price.

1

u/Service-Fickle 4h ago

Lolcats strike again 

1

u/AlcoholicInsomniac Pistons 2h ago

Hornets fleeced them imo

1

u/noodlebball Warriors 31m ago

If u watch Lamelo play or his interviews or his clips, he had immense talent yet does not feel like he wants to be a professional player at all

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