The Minnesota Timberwolves have traded Naz Reid, three first-round swaps, three second-round picks, and a 2033 first-round pick for Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball and Josh Green.
Days after trading Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets for cap space, where they received no returning player, the Timberwolves have made their headline offseason move by trading a massive haul to the Hornets for LaMelo Ball and Josh Green.
This blockbuster offseason trade was unexpected for fans around the world, after the first reports of a potential Ball trade emerging last night. The deal is officially confirmed before the start of free agency.
Fans are excited to see Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball as teammates
“That’s… not a lot to give up. LaMelo and Ant is going to be an interesting chemistry experiment,” said Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports.
“Woahhhh,” said a stunned Kenny Beecham, the CEO of Enjoy Basketball.
“Love this for Charlotte. Three swaps are crazy. Naz Reid provides more size and will help right away. Imagine if Edwards asks out if the Wolves don’t do much over the next couple of years. Those picks could look pretty for Charlotte,” said a fan.
“Charlotte getting Naz Reid and a bunch of future picks for LaMelo is an awful return, you just traded one of the most exciting young guards in the league for a good role player and picks that won’t matter for a decade,” said another fan on the opposite end of the spectrum.
“The Timberwolves just got significantly better, but damn, that’s a lot to give up,” said another fan.
“People were just flaming the Wolves for letting Randle go,” said one fan about this trade coming soon after the empty Randle return.
Both teams are looking for win-now results after the LaMelo Ball trade
The Hornets had a 44-38 season in 2025-26 with Ball averaging 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. His scoring took a dip alongside scorers like Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller, but it seems the Hornets will continue their winning project without the player they built around for the last six seasons.
The Timberwolves will not only lose Randle this offseason, but also Reid, who averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists last season. What many assumed was a move to open up space for Reid to be a starter has flipped against him, as the Timberwolves prioritized a genuine offensive co-star next to Edwards over role-players.
The Wolves will likely run a starting five of Ball and Edwards with recently re-signed Ayo Dosunmu, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert. They’ll have to fill their entire bench out with Terrence Shannon Jr.and Joan Beringer their leading options right now after being fringe rotational players last season.
The Hornets fill their frontcourt with a powerful power forward/center like Reid, who can also space the floor. They’ll likely look to re-sign veteran Coby White to be their full-time starting guard with rookie Christian Anderson as his backup, in a starting five alongside Knueppel, Miller, Miles Bridges, and Reid.
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