If LaMelo can stay healthy is the big question

Gonna be hard to double Ant come playoff time.

The real winner in this trade is Beringer. Lamelo is gonna find him some easy buckets.

I’d put money on this being a disaster

I really don’t love this fit ngl

I said this in another thread but Minnesota acquiring a mercurial point guard with a ton of talent but questions about his attitude to pair with their generational superstar…. it’s 1996 again

both are going to be running and gunning the defense better start guarding from half court because thats where they are going to be basically pulling up from

Lamelo without ant won’t carry this team to the playoffs. West is too strong

This trade would look better if Divicenzo didn’t tear his Achilles.

Even with the concerns that Edwards and Ball are to ball dominant, Chris Finch can stagger their minutes with an elite off-ball specialist in Divicenzo

As a Thunder fan, great move by the Wolves. Can’t wait to see it in action.

I appreciate all the things that will magically be cured about Lamelo by existing on this team apparently. If Gobert could shepherd defenders he wouldn’t have had to defend every position on the Jazz. Lol

Going to be interesting to see how Lamelo responds to playing on a team with expectations. He has never had that before.

“With Gobert guiding him” what 😂

“Ant won’t tolerate the immaturity with regards to basketball” what 😂😂😂

Carry? LaMelo has never got his team into the playoffs.

Ayo being the best paid 6th man or will they switch Ant to SF and Lamelo to SG?!

Those that say this trade makes the Wolves worse don’t know ball.

Is the fit perfect? No.

But LaMelo is exactly what the Wolves are lacking- playmaking and shot creation.

They just need to pick up a 4 and they’ve got a very solid roster. Ayo is their new 6th man.

Where’s the backcourt defense?

Hold on where is the evidence Lamelo is capable of carrying a team. He has never made the playoffs and actively contributed to the playin loss last season.

I wouldn’t say Lamelo can carry the team in Ant’s absence.

He can for like a game or 2 but he’s never shown the ability to play efficient and winning basketball for sustained stretches of the season without falling off in production or getting injured so if Ant has to take extended time off then I’m not exactly jumping for joy with Lamelo in the driver’s seat (if the coaches even put him in the driver’s seat).

El oh El. LaMelo is a pretty one-dimensional offensive player. His only plus-plus skills are his creation and his ability to jack up 3-pointers. The latter’s value is tenuous and has been proven easy to scheme away when teams try (see the play-in games). The difference in shooting 37% on 13 3s per 36 versus 33% on 13 3s per 36 is massive. And it’s pretty much luck as to which one LaMelo will put up in a given year.

He’s a negative on defense, but at least he rebounds well and you can play fast with him. But he’s such a low BBIQ, unserious player, he’s terribly inefficient and the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. He’s overpaid and I’d take Naz Reid over him straight up on most teams. To get an unprotected first and three unprotected swaps on top of Naz is crazy. 

LaMelo is definitely talented but I kind of feel he is not the best fit for Minnesota.

After serious thought for 3 minutes while on the can, I’m with this trade. Minnesota had no legit second option in the playoffs. McDaniels balled out, but I don’t think he can be a second option for a full season. Now, they have one.

Big negatives with lamelo are his defense, immaturity and clown-like play, and injuries. Minnesota is a sick perimeter defensive roster between McDaniels, TSJ, Ayo, Jaylen Clark, and Ant (when he wants to be, I think he’s one of the best perimeter defensive players), so I think they can absorb one lousy defensive guard. Plus, they have Rudy and Joan if anyone gets past the perimeter. As for the clown behavior, I feel like the dudes in Minnesota will punch him in the face if he does that. And I got nothing on the injuries…just cross your fingers?

whatever you’re smoking i’ll take some

Skill wise it seems good. Personality wise it seems bad. At least we put two of the most annoying players on the same team

I love this for Minnesota..hornets better have something else lined up or I don’t get it at all

Two goobers on the same team. This team is going to be fun to watch that’s for sure.

Praying there are no LaMelo injuries

LaMelo is a generational playmaker and is a ultra confident shot maker. He took major strides with his defense and showed a real care factor last year. He is a winning player, Wolves fans are lucky.

Yeah but Ball gonna miss games

guaranteed fun. winning? maybe.

Yeah i think this move works

LaMelo Rudy pick n roll going to be the best either of them has seen in that situation (Ricky, Mike and Jingles were great but LaMelo should be able to cook with Rudy)

I’ve always thought Lamelo was one of the most overrated and overpaid players in the league tbh.

Only 2 seasons with 70 games played (next highest is 51). He’s extremely inefficient and doesn’t play smart/winning basketball imo. On top of that he has ³⁄₁₃₀ mil left on his deal.

Idk man, I just don’t see it from Minnesota’s perspective.

I don’t see the fit ngl

First round exit for sure

The team is pretty much built for the regular season, they are gonna run teams off the court with that backcourt, don’t see how they don’t finish top 3, in terms of playoffs they’ve lost some of their paint clampers

This is just a huge bet on injuries for both teams. I like it. The draft was so boring. Finally something exciting happens. 

Just like LaMelo has carried the Hornets all these years?

Good for the Timberwolves, bad for Minnesota drivers

lamelo, ant, mcdnaniels. they need some serious vets now

I don’t have an issue with LaMelo-Ant pairing: Ball managed to keep Hornets wings fed with shots, so it’s not like he will take a way the ball from Ant, who is at his best attacking on the move anyway rather than trying to break down defenses on his own.

The issue I have is the depth among bigs: it is basically non-existent now and if Beringer doesn’t take a major step forward, we may legit see McDaniels playing at 5 come playoffs for extended minutes.

Wolves just simply don’t have big bodies now outside of Gobert and Beringer, don’t have salary cap room to bring in impactful FAs or trade assets to get trades done: that’s an extremely risky roster construction approach in a conference where 2 out of 4 best players are 7’0” or taller.

You couldn’t have crafted a trade that I would hate more.

Wolves went from a big team to a small team in a week. I understand trading Randle away and giving those minutes to Naz and Jaden but now they trade Naz away? Don’t understand it.

Can’t wait to see the looks Ant gives Lamelo when he pulls up for one of his patented crazy long, early shot clock, contested threes instead of getting to ball to Ant in a close game. This is MIN/Ant’s first step down the same path MIL/Giannis went over the last five years…

Wait dosunmu will play 2?

Minnesota just needs a few depth vets and covert some bike lanes into go-kart lanes and they’re set

Isnt this like WB and Harden in Hou

This is great Imo because I think Ant will thrive playing off ball a little more. Also takes a lot more facilitating duties off his shoulders.

Not going to the Lamelo propaganda. The idea of Lamelo is better than him in real life. He’s going into his 7th year. He is who is he is.

and what about the defense

Lamelo stock is going up as long as he stays relatively healthy. It will be funny to see how quickly narrative shifts to ‘winning player’ now that’s he’s off the hornets.

The idea of Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards being the mature mentors who are going to mold LaMelo into a serious player might make sense if I knew nothing about Rudy Gobert or Anthony Edwards.

> And Lamelo threw dirty feet water along with the bucket at Kon. 

Source? First I hear of this

Me too. Miller is a mismatch hunter who can attack off the weak side, and Knueppel is becoming a lethal off-ball weapon. Add Diabante as a DHO hub, and there’s a pretty natural fit with LaMelo’s disruptive playmaking. Their skills seem to complement each other from day one.

Hard to see Minnesota can be more the sum of their parts unless Ant somehow develops high motor offball game. Still, I love his fit with Ayo and Gobert. Maybe he’ll finally unlock Gobert’s pinch post hub game.

Just need Lamelo healthy. Hopefully last year was the turnaround

As long as Lamelo doesn’t shoot too much and sets stuff up for Ant, McDaniels, and Ayo, I think this could work out great.

“With Rudy Gobert guiding him, Lamelo will be special.”

This line absolutely cracked me up! It just sounds so strange to me. Like I can see the two of them in some martial arts training montage lmao.

But in all seriousness, they actually complement each other very well. Lamelo feeding gobert easy buckets and alley oops on offense, and Gobert covering up Lamelo’s faults on defense.

Taken out of context though, that line is incredible. Thank you for that bar OP!

Is Ayo the odd man out? They just signed him to a $130m extension. That’s a lot of a 3rd guard who’s prob going to come off the bench.

Should be great on offense for the 50-ish games per year that LaMelo plays. Not sure how you could hope for anything more!

The pair on paper sound great.    

Issue is Lamelo hasn’t sniffed the playoffs yet with the combination of now being in the West. The two best teams are heavy guard and wing defense that can switch and disrupt. How he learns to respond will be the key to the wolves success.    

The one thing I like about their team which sucks cuz Naz was a big part of it is the ability to outlet into a running offense. Lamelo is great on the open floor and that would mix things up versus these defensive teams.    

One other issue is they built to beat the Nuggets but what do they do about Wemby when gobert isn’t an offensive threat. 

What are the other 3 starters gonna do stand around and watch those two

Defense

56-26 easy

Is LaMelo a good defender?

The real winner in this trade is the Nuggets. No Naz, No Randle, No problem

lamelo no puede cargar con ningun equipo en play-off

You can always tell who’s a casual when the person is only envisioning the offensive side of the ball. Defense wins championships and that’s what I’m ALWAYS thinking first and foremost. Ant and Lamelo will definitely be problematic defensively.

Since when has Lamelo Ball shown the ability to carry an NBA team?

Charlotte ended up in the lottery every season he was there.

As a resident of Minneapolis I’m terrified at the prospect of LaMelo driving in the winter.

I personally don’t see it and have little faith in lamelo but credit the twolves front office for always going big

I can’t help but think that 9 months ago lamelo was an underwater asset

Lamelo will tank their playoff intensity and defense. This is a downgrade and ive already put money on it that this will be a negative for minnesota

I’m not sure if I understand your point about Kon? Kon had one of the the best shooting seasons of all time with Lamelo feeding him, as a rookie.

Both are funny in the pressers, somehow a douche off-court and a frequent visitor of a different kind of court (room). I could see a perfect fit indeed

I just don’t see how you lose a tough conference semifinals to Spurs and think “ we were a Lamelo Ball away from a chip”

GTA 6 is gonna come out before Finch finds offensive spacing.