Since the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for LaMelo Ball, there's been a mixed bag of emotions from a lot of the national NBA media outlets. A lot of people love it for the Wolves, as they got a young star point guard to pair with Anthony Edwards for hopefully the next decade. However, there were also people like Zach Karm of ESPN and Zach Harper of The Athletic who bothgave the Timberwolves a D+ grade for the trade.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report is the latest pundit to be critical of the Timberwolves' offseason. In an article about whether all 30 NBA teams got better or worse, Swartz labeled the Wolves in the "worse" category.
Swartz's reasoning behind this was, "Going all-in for Ball was a mistake that the Wolves will regret. They need Ball to be healthy, which he's struggled with, and their power forward depth is now too thin." He ended the section with,"This could be the beginning of the end for Anthony Edwards in Minnesota."
I genuinely spit out my water after reading this. Ant was all-in on the LaMelo trade, and his presence will benefit him. As such, trying to stir the pot about Edwards' future is puzzling, and without a doubt, the Timberwolves upgraded their roster.
The Wolves actually got significantly better for both now and long term
Saying the Wolves got worse is factually incorrect. Every Wolves fan has a soft spot for Naz Reid, and I absolutely think he'll thrive in Charlotte, but he was never even a starter for the Wolves, and Tim Connelly turned him and some pick swaps (that likely won't even convey) into an All-Star point guard who fits the Wolves' current timeline perfectly and is even younger than Naz Reid.
The biggest hole in the Wolves' rosters over the past couple of years was the lack of a true second initiator and creator. They thought Rob Dillingham would be able to fill that void, but it didn't work out here. Now, they not only got a secondary creator, but they got one of the five best playmakers in the entire NBA who's only turning 25 in a few days.
Ball makes everyone around him better, and it's not a coincidence that as soon as the Hornets gave him a competent roster, they looked like one of the most fearsome offenses in the league. He's now bringing his brilliant offensive creativity to a team that lacked it for years.
The Wolves also got out of Julius Randle in a salary dump in a move that will be addition by subtraction. Randle is a good player, but the fit here was always shaky at best. I don't understand the depth argument from Swartz either, as the Wolves will have Terrence Shannon Jr, Bones Hyland, Joan Beringer, Josh Green, and more coming off the bench. Oh, and Donte DiVincenzo could return after the All-Star break.
All of those guys have track records of being extremely solid rotational guys, and Beringer has the tools to be the franchise center one day post-Rudy Gobert. The Wolves have a roster that has the potential to be both a top-five offense and defense, and that's rare air.
So let me get this straight: the Wolves have one of the best under-25 cores in basketball, are built to win not only now but for the next decade, have an elite front office from top to bottom, a successful coach, and a stable infrastructure. I guess that isn't enough, though, and it's only a matter of time before Ant asks out, right?
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