Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards has a new backcourt comrade in point guard LaMelo Ball, and an NBA insider has intel on how Edwards sees the move.
“From what I’ve heard, by the way, ‘Anthony Edwards is over the moon,’ was the quote I got about this deal,” reporter Kyle Theige said during the Dane Moore NBA Podcast. “And I think if Ant could sign an extension with Minnesota today, he would sign that extension. I think that’s worth mentioning after what we kind of heard earlier this week.”
After all, Edwards is a four-time All-Star who led the Wolves to back-to-back Western Conference finals before this past season, so his position on the recent trade is critical. Minnesota acquired Ball from the Charlotte Hornets, and the Wolves sent Naz Reid and draft picks to the Hornets in the deal.
Ball has benefits for the Wolves, but there’s concerns, too. The former No. 3 pick in 2020 had high expectations coming into the league, but he has only made the All-Star game once in his career.
Ball has a career average of 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 7.1 assists per game. Those aren’t bad numbers, but they fall short of a player who was taken No. 3 in the draft.
Edwards was the No. 1 pick by the Wolves in that same draft out of Georgia, and he has been a dominant, rising star. He made the All-NBA second team twice, and he averages 28.8 points, 3.7 assists, five rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.
That’s much more ideal production for a top-three pick, and the Wolves are relying on Ball at least matching or surpassing his averages. Minnesota is also relying on Ball staying healthy, which he hasn’t in his young career.
Ball has played over 70 games only twice and fewer than 50 in all his other seasons in the league. Based on that track record, the Wolves are taking significant risks in pairing Ball with Edwards.