After the LaMelo Ball trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves became official a couple of weeks after it was announced, his opening press conference finally occurred on Tuesday. Sitting with him were Josh Green (also acquired in the deal), Tim Connelly, and Chris Finch.
Finch was asked about how Ball will help to stabilize the offense.
“It gives us a point guard." Finch said. "Gives us great size. In the West, you gotta have a big backcourt. We learned that through the playoffs this year. As Tim (Connelly) mentioned, he’s a player that elevates everybody. He can unlock Rudy (Gobert) to another level at the rim. We’ve got to find a way to generate more catch-and-shoot three-point shots for Anthony (Edwards) who is absolutely elite at that. He can help Jaden (McDaniels) take the next step...Not just stabilizing, but bolstering.”
Adding Ball isn’t just about bringing in a scorer, but bringing in someone who can elevate everyone else’s offensive game.
Ball can help everyone else out by being the point guard Minnesota hasn’t had of late
Listed at 6-foot-7, Ball is one of the tallest point guards in the league. That does bring more size to a backcourt that also features Anthony Edwards, Ayo Dosunmu, and Bones Hyland. None of those three is taller than 6-foot-4.
In sharing a backcourt with Ant-Man, Ball will allow Edwards to get more of those catch-and-shoot opportunities that Finch talked about. Edwards was deadly accurate last season in making 49.6 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-point tries. That was best in the league, but his 2.3 attempts per contest paled in comparison to many other players (including his teammate Donte DiVincenzo, who attempted six per game).
That’s because defenses paid so much attention to Edwards, and he often had the ball in his hands. That will be happening much less often in the upcoming season now that Ball is on the team.
Ball’s starting center with the Charlotte Hornets beginning in late December last season was Moussa Diabate. He’s similar to Gobert in that the majority of his points come down low. Gobert is three inches taller than Diabate, and Ball often looks for lobs to the rim. Gobert averaged 10.9 points in 2025-26, his lowest in 10 years, and that average should rise with a true point guard playing alongside him.
Ball can also create more open opportunities for McDaniels, who is coming off his best season shooting the basketball. Ayo Dosunmu can find easy buckets by cutting to the rim and having Ball find him.
There’s a reason the on/off numbers in recent years show how much better Charlotte was scoring the basketball when Ball was on the floor. Now, the hope has to be that Ball has another healthy season just as he did last year.
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