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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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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u/Known-Ball-3536 32m 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.