By trading for LaMelo Ball, the Minnesota Timberwolves landed a high-end playmaker and secondary creator alongside Anthony Edwards. This had long been a roster flaw for the Timberwolves despite their recent success.
And while I'm overall very positive about LaMelo's fit with the Timberwolves, there's no denying he has some injury concerns. To be more specific, Ball has only played more than 55 games twice in his career: last season and in his second year. Now, one could argue the constantly rebuilding Charlotte Hornets and freak (non-recurring injuries) should silence these concerns. Still, he hasn't had a clean bill of health for most of his career, and that's a concern.
Unfortunately, if Ball gets hurt for an extended period of time, the Wolves will face a familiar problem. They'd have a talented team, but nobody to organize the offense and nobody who can truly take the pressure off Ant as a creator. We saw the issues that this created for the team last season, and these problems could pop up again this season.
Amid all the understandable excitement about the Wolves, the possibility of Ball getting injured gives them some real volatility.
The Timberwolves need LaMelo Ball to stay healthy
Yes, you could argue that every team wouldn't be in a great spot if their second-best player were to get injured. However, this is especially relevant for Minnesota given its lack of point guard depth and playmaking outside of Ball and his injury history. In other words, the Wolves put all their eggs in the LaMelo Ball basket, and this carries some risk.
Ayo Dosunmu can scale up as a shot creator, but he isn't a lead playmaker. Terrence Shannon Jr. is a gifted microwave scorer but not much of a playmaker. Bones Hyland is an erratic microwave scorer who isn't a plus playmaker or defender. And last season showed that Ant is a true off-guard who, at this point, struggles as a playmaker.
Last season, the Wolves' lack of point guard play and creation outside of Edwards allowed opposing teams to load up on Ant, giving them a clear blueprint to success against Minnesota. This strategy will no longer work with LaMelo in the mix, and the Wolves' offense as a whole will be far less predictable. If Ball gets injured, though, things will start to spiral.
Who will alleviate pressure off Edwards, and who will organize the offense?
The Wolves do have some talented creators, but other than Ant, they're all talented complementary creators who need others to set them up. Likewise, there would still be a good number of mouths to feed with nobody who can organize the offense. Perhaps an empowered Jaden McDaniels could prove to be more than a complementary creator. Regardless, the playmaking piece of the offense would be a grave concern without LaMelo.
Minnesota made a gamble by trading for Ball and building out the rest of the roster without much playmaking. It's a worthy gamble given that their lack of playmaking was clearly holding them back, and Ball is an ideal fit alongside Ant. Should everything go right, the Timberwolves could win a championship as soon as this season.
Still, it's a gamble at the end of the day, and Ball's injury history is at the center of this risk. As such, there's a path for things to go south and for the Timberwolves to have a disappointing season relative to expectations.
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