We are months away from Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball sharing the court, but the signs of a strong connection are there. Notably, at Fanatics Fest, Edwards said that he and Ball have been hanging out and building up their chemistry. And more recently, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reported that Ant and Ball are flying out to France to work out with Rudy Gobert.
“They (Ant and LaMelo) are organizing things with their teammates to try and figure out something. That especially will resonate with Rudy Gobert. Covering him for the last four years here in Minnesota, it does mean more to him when he's completely included. When he feels like his teammates are trying to maximize him as best they can. I do think that the physical act of getting on the plane, heading across the water, and coming to his town to work with him will go a long way for Rudy," Krawczynski said.
Flying out to France should be seen as a significant gesture, especially since Krawczynski also noted that Edwards and Ball are trying to get the whole team to make the trip.
The Timberwolves are counting on Edwards to be more of a leader with the departures of Mike Conley, Naz Reid, Joe Ingles, and Kyle Anderson. This shows he's ready for the task. Likewise, Ball's maturity has long been questioned, but this shows he's ready to step up as a leader.
The bigger picture, though, is that the returning Timberwolves players need to improve their chemistry, and the new players need to start building a connection. At the end of the day, this could help the Timberwolves accomplish their championship aspirations.
Edwards and Ball are helping the Timberwolves build some much-needed chemistry
While the NBA is a star-driven league, chemistry is just as important, if not more important. Isiah Thomas famously coined this as "The Secret of basketball" in Bill Simmons' book "The Book of Basketball."
Look at the New York Knicks' championship run: they had the power of friendship with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges all playing together at Villanova, while they meshed with Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby nicely.
Frankly, the Timberwolves' chemistry has been erratic despite their success in recent years. Far too often, they've looked like a disjointed team even if some of the players are super close friends. Numerous players openly described the team as moody last season, and no, this wasn't solely a Julius Randle problem.
Let's face it, Rudy's involvement has been a big part of the Timberwolves' up-and-down chemistry. His teammates have been reluctant to pass him the ball even when he's open due to his poor hands and limited offensive skill set.
Gobert's body language has shown his displeasure at times, and he's called out his teammates for a lack of effort. Edwards and Ball are proactively making sure this won't be an issue again.
LaMelo's playmaking should maximize Gobert on offense, but they need to build reps, particularly since Rudy is a funky offensive player.
For the Timberwolves to establish themselves as title contenders and threaten the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, developing this chemistry is vital.
Thankfully, Edwards and LaMelo are quickly helping the team build chemistry, which shows they're ready to be true leaders. To say the least, this is very promising stuff for the Timberwolves' season outlook.
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