Anthony Edwards has yet to develop an elite two-man game with anyone in his career, but to his credit, the Minnesota Timberwolves haven't given him any elite fits to work with. He and Karl-Anthony Towns had great chemistry and clearly enjoyed playing together, but the on-court fit was always missing something.
Then, when they traded for Julius Randle, the fit didn't improve. In fact, it was probably worse. The idea was that Randle's playmaking could unlock a two-man game between them, but instead, it was a lot of "your turn, my turn" basketball.
Now, with the addition of LaMelo Ball, there seems to be a lot of optimism that Edwards finally has a secondary star who can work in tandem with him.
Julius Randle was never a good fit alongside Anthony Edwards
When the initial Towns for Randle trade happened, I tried to talk myself into the fit, but I was never a true believer in the Randle and Ant pairing working. When Edwards had the ball, Randle was never a true threat off of it. Even in his best moments, he was a shaky-at-best 3-point shooter, and he didn't provide any off-ball movement.
When Randle had the ball, he didn't utilize his playmaking as much as he probably should've. Edwards is one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the game, but he was rarely fed those looks. Some of it was definitely on Ant -- he could have likely been more active as an off-ball mover, but Randle needed to be more diligent about getting him the ball in those spots.
The lack of spacing and lack of versatility were the prime reasons for that duo not working, but both the Wolves and I are hopeful that this new duo will have better results.
On paper LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards fit seamlessly with each other
Edwards has never played with a point guard nearly as talented as LaMelo. The point guards he's shared the court with in his career are D'Angelo Russell, Donte DiVincenzo, and Ayo Dosunmu (who aren't true point guards), and Mike Conley, Ricky Rubio, and Patrick Beverley (all of whom were extremely limited offensively).
Ball not only gives him elite playmaking alongside him, but also the volume scoring that an elite co-star provides. Ball has averaged at least 20 points and 7 assists per game every season, with the only exception being his rookie year.
Now, he has a much better offensive and defensive infrastructure around him. Just as LaMelo can help the Wolves reach new heights, I think the Wolves can do the same for LaMelo.
The Wolves just paired arguably the best three-level scorer in the NBA with one of the best playmakers and shooters in the NBA. Ball will only give Edwards more open looks offensively while also taking pressure off him, and Edwards can help Ball defensively and take the pressure off him as well. It shouldn't take long for Edwards to realize how well his game meshes with LaMelo's skill set.
The Wolves finally found a co-star who fits perfectly with Anthony Edwards, and that alone should strike fear into the rest of the league.
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