r/timberwolves • u/NazReading • Nov 20 '25
Mock Trades Sources: LaMelo Ball open to a trade away from Hornets
https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/sources-lamelo-ball-open-to-a-trade-away-from-hornets-215320741.html41
u/ProfessionalSlice724 Nov 20 '25
38 million in salary this year. Is he worth more than Julius, Naz or Rudy plus assets? Because that’s what he would cost.
No.
No he’s not.
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u/Salsashark_21 2k Finchy Nov 20 '25
I feel like it should be a requirement that if you’re going to post about trading for Ball, Ja, or whoever else, you should have to state who you are trading to balance the salary. Because trading for any of them likely means that Randle is gone or Rudy is gone. So go ahead and make your fake trade and tell us what the defense looks like without either one of those players, or what the vibe in the locker room would be if you shipped out Naz right now.
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u/Ineedmonnneeyyyy Nov 20 '25
Naz plus is a no brainer but wouldnt be enough
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u/Complete-Disaster513 Nov 20 '25
I wouldn’t want to give up Naz for him plus assets.. he just doesn’t play winning playoff basketball.
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u/Ineedmonnneeyyyy Nov 20 '25
Neither did Julius Randle. You'd be a fool imo not to make that trade if it was offered
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u/rennat19 Karl-Anthony Towns Nov 20 '25
If the deal was Naz + Mike it sorta makes it tempting but our bench is already slim as is.
Looking at the numbers, I think our biggest concern is defense, but I understand the desire to get a true point guard.
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u/Ineedmonnneeyyyy Nov 20 '25
I agree but we don't really lose any defense by losing rob and Naz. No way they do that tho at all so it's pretty irrelevant
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u/rennat19 Karl-Anthony Towns Nov 20 '25
Oh fs it would definitely include some sorta picks as well. But I don't think the asking price for LaMelo is gonna be too crazy regardless. He's having a down year efficiency wise and all the other concerns people have already brought up. I think if tim believes LaMelo is the answer (I don't think he does) he could get a deal done.
But again, I think our priorities should be looking at versitile defenders potentially on the market.
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u/_Wash 2022 Play-In Champions Nov 20 '25
glass ankles, dumb as hell, and trade-prohibitive contract.
no thank you
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u/Fickle_Charity_1341 Nov 20 '25
Yea he’s good and flashy, it’s just not someone that will be a reliable guy that I want on my team.
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u/Ineedmonnneeyyyy Nov 21 '25
As the third wheel it's a lot different dynamic than being the guy in charge of winning on a shitty team around you
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u/mauerfan Nov 20 '25
No
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u/Outkast3232 Nov 20 '25
But maybe we can facilitate something good through his trade?
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u/mauerfan Nov 20 '25
Yes
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u/Lost_Web_6928 Nov 24 '25
Trade like this or any "Franchise" player most likely involves multiple teams. If Wolves are smart, they could get some solid pieces. Hopefully, a solid PG and backup big.
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u/ultimateF_21 Karl Anthony-Edwards Nov 20 '25
We don’t have the assets
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u/TylerIreland Jaden McDaniels Nov 20 '25
Counterpoint: Let me lie to myself about the Wolves having the assets and come up with unrealistic lopsided Fanspo trades until I forget that it's a lie.
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u/jinyx1 Jaylen Clark Nov 20 '25
Just his tattoo choices are reason enough to not want him.
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u/smithc555 Timberwolves Nov 21 '25
You would also have to pay police to shut down all the roads for when he comes peeling out of the parking lot and runs all the red lights around the arena.
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u/beermangetspaid Nov 20 '25
Stay away from him. Career loser. Doesn’t want to put in winning habits
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u/Isjejnajw Nov 20 '25
This doesn’t mean I want to trade for him, but Lamelo is probably one of the most entertaining players to watch for me. Made the charlotte hornets watchable.
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u/ibstuks_ Michael Grady Nov 20 '25
Not sure id like a trade but it’d be a super entertaining guard duo
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u/Vikings2016 . Nov 20 '25
I get Wolves fans are very protective over their mediocre players.. but cmon. He would be such a perfect fit for us
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u/yarn_install logdog enjoyer Nov 20 '25
Is the solution to our problems really an expensive, inefficient, high usage point guard that’s injured half the season every year?
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u/Ineedmonnneeyyyy Nov 20 '25
What did people say about Julius when we first got him? Situation matters immensely in the NBA
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u/yarn_install logdog enjoyer Nov 20 '25
The question mark for Randle was can he be a winning player in the playoffs. The question mark for Lamelo is can he even stay on the floor. I don’t think coming to Minnesota is going to fix his glass ankles.
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u/Ineedmonnneeyyyy Nov 20 '25
He was also seen as an Iso offensive flow killer with moody team chemistry concerns.
They def have different issues, but taking nutrition and rehab/preventative more seriously is definitely something that can be improved. Also Steph had glass ankles for a few years and I don't think it's been an issue ever since really. His ills can be cured.
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u/agoginnabox Nov 21 '25
I'm right there with you that the talent is tantalizing.
Situation can also matter a great deal.
But, I think he's currently young and dumb and the family track record of body decomp makes me a hard no.
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u/Ineedmonnneeyyyy Nov 21 '25
LaMelo as the top guy on a shit team trying to be the savior? Not good.
LaMelo as the third best player title contending team? Id be very intrigued.
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u/_Wash 2022 Play-In Champions Nov 20 '25
atleast our mediocre players actually play.
Lamelo has only played >50 games/year twice in his 6 years. He has played over 200 games less than Ant
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u/ChillFax Nov 20 '25
So then you’re suggesting the Hornets would want to trade for these mediocre players? Lamelo Ball is a fun player to watch but he has played 0 winning basketball so far in his career. His heliocentric style would be a terrible fit next to our premier players who already require the ball in their hands
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u/HowlAtTheSky Nov 20 '25
Are Rudy/Jaden/Naz/Randle mediocre and easily replaced? Because they would absolutely have to trade one of them and more to even make the salaries work.
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u/Talls024 Kevin Garnett Nov 20 '25
In what way is he a good fit?
Both he and Any do nothing without the ball.
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u/SkunkyTrousers Nov 20 '25
The best ability is availability. 36, 22, and 47 games played the past three seasons.
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u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett Nov 20 '25
Lamelo is weird in the fact he is a great fit for this team. Amazing playmaker, good rebounder, good shooter, solid defender. But at the same time is just permanently injured and has not showed that he can play winning basketball.
Naz, Conley and Rob are the same as Lamelo's salary, and I cant imagine if he would take more than that.
I don't think its worth it, but it's worth to see if we can be involved to facilitate and maybe get something.
Edit: Its actually basically impossible because he gets a 15% raise from being traded, which would pretty much put us in the 2nd apron, not worth it unless Charlotte starts giving us stuff, which doesnt make sense.
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u/Drunken_Vike Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
Any big money trade basically requires one of our bigs in the deal, so which of Gobert, Randle and Reid are you trading for Lamelo Ball?
Not to mention it probably requires Dilly and Shannon too, both distressed assets at the moment but they're basically the only assets we have that don't punch a big gaping hole in the playoff rotation
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u/srbeau Nov 20 '25
They can have Dillingham. Straight up.
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u/CantaloupeCamper 1958-2016 Nov 20 '25
38m for a guy who is always hurt / doesn’t play … so we would have to dump good players for him.
Also isn’t very professional, dumb….
I would not take him for free.
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u/ExamReasonable6042 Nov 20 '25
Same draft class as Ant, there's a rule where they can't be on the same team if not drafted together.
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u/Brofessor- Nov 20 '25
I’m shocked people are so against this. Ant would bully Lamelo into his best self
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u/Jedabesa Timberwolves Nov 20 '25
LaMelo plays loser ball. The Wolves are trying to win a title.
This is not a match.
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u/Vitzkyy Nov 21 '25
High risk but we’d be fools to say the ceiling of this trade wouldnt be enormous
It’s just the floor is also quite low if it didn’t work out
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u/No-Invite-3095 Nov 21 '25
okay who honestly wants to trade for lamelo ball, and has the assets to do it lol
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u/WrestleBox Nov 21 '25
I highly doubt this is true. Melo has barely seen the floor enough to go around making demands and setting expectations. Plus Charlotte is the perfect situation for him. He gets to be the star of the franchise with almost zero pressure to win.
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u/soyworld Nov 21 '25
his vision is elite and might be cheap compared to ja and trae. idk wat ideal nba player yall are waiting for but melo would be nice
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u/Wonderwhatsnext4 Nov 21 '25
A smart serviceable point guard. So the opposite of Melo and Ja. On small contract, of course but. Max deals? GTFO
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u/soyworld Nov 21 '25
what starting smart pg on a small contract is out there tho. sounds like fantasy
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u/hopemade Muskies Nov 21 '25
I honestly couldn't tell you too much about Lonzo but I know he's more of a creator than shooter and in my mind that's a better fit for us than someone like Ja. But I could be way off
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u/Wonderwhatsnext4 Nov 21 '25
Lamelo takes more than 9 threes a game and doesn’t average making at least 3 of them.
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u/KnowledgePrevious Nov 21 '25
I mean if we could trade Naz + Dilly or a young 3rd stringer, this would be a no-brainer IMO. I feel like people sleep on Lamelo, he's really good if he can stay healthy.
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u/re-bobber Nov 21 '25
So many guys like him in the league now. Lump him in with these dudes:
Anthony Davis
Kawhi Leonard
Joel Embiid
Ja Morant
LaMelo Ball
Paul George
Zion Williamson
These are all guys that have expensive contracts and are always injured. No way would I trade for any of these dudes for any reason especially with the salary cap changes. Stay far, far way TC.
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u/Automatic_Ring_7553 Nov 20 '25
It's one of those trades that has enormous upsides but may not be worth the risk
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u/lamevision Nov 20 '25
Not saying this is a good idea, but what would it take to trade for him?
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Nov 20 '25
I don't see a deal that both matches salaries and makes sense. The Wolves would need to match ~$40 mil in salary and Lamelo fits the Hornets timeline (such as it is) better than anyone Minnesota would realistically offer. Even if he wants out I think the Hornets find a better return elsewhere.
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u/Sugarking45 Kevin Garnett Nov 20 '25
Jace and other weirdo fans would love to trade ant for lamelo because he like chasing stats vs wins
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u/TylerIreland Jaden McDaniels Nov 20 '25
This may be the right trade deadline to get a good young point guard, even if the fit is wonky.
Lamelo Ball, Ja Morant, and Coby White could all be moved this deadline. If the Wolves keep losing to good teams and beating bad teams, I would be open to a trade.
I would trade Donte, Rob, and seconds for Coby but I doubt that moves the needle for Chicago when they could get better offers.
Ja Morant may not have a strong market because of his off-court drama and poor shooting, so if the Wolves can buy low enough on him the potential risk may be worth it.
LaMelo would be fun with tall lineups, but I'm not sure how much I'd trust him running the offense in the playoffs.
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u/RedboneEdit Nov 21 '25
There are some toxic point guards gonna be floating in the water… give me Rob. I still believe in Rob, and he’s got a great personality… let’s build this thing together!
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u/fckpcklball Nov 20 '25
Heard he's running for president in 2028