The Minnesota Timberwolves are acquiring former All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania. Minnesota will receive guards LaMelo Ball and Josh Green in exchange for forward Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, three second-round picks in 2029, 2032, and 2033, and three first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029, and 2030.

LaMelo Ball has spent his entire career with the Charlotte Hornets after he was selected with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. During his time with the Hornets, he was named an NBA All-Star once while averaging 20.8 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game.

In July 2023, Ball signed a five-year, $203 million contract extension with Charlotte. Though his current deal is set to expire during the 2029 off-season, he is eligible to sign a two-year, $119.2 million extension this off-season on July 6th.

This is the second major trade the T-wolves have pulled off this week. On Monday, Minnesota traded three-time All-Star Julius Randle and the 28th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft to Brooklyn as part of a three-team deal with the Nets and the Chicago Bulls. In return, the Timberwolves received the 33rd overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and forward Mo Gueye, while the Chicago Bulls received center Nic Claxton.

A huge overhaul in the Twin Cities

Between trading Julius Randle and acquiring LaMelo Ball, Minnesota recognizes a changing of the guard in the West. Teams are not going to prioritize stopping Stephen Curry, LeBron James, or Nikola Jokic; they have bigger fish to fry with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. As the adage goes: adapt or die. Well, the Timberwolves are trying to adapt.

That said, this is not a massive needle-moving acquisition. The Timberwolves still aren't better than the Thunder or the Spurs. OKC still has way more depth than Minnesota, especially with the departure of Naz Reid, who was the Sixth Man of the Year award just two seasons ago. And with the loss of Julius Randle, it seems that the Timberwolves are even less equipped to defend Victor Wembanyama. This is a fine move, but it does not push Minnesota over the top and make them favorites in the West.

These trades firmly cement the T-wolves as the third-best team in the Western Conference. The Golden State Warriors are probably going to make major roster changes very soon. LeBron James is likely on his way out of Los Angeles. The Clippers can never seem to put all the pieces they have together. Lastly, the Nuggets are still missing an incredibly reliable third option after Jokic and Jamal Murray. Granted, the West is very competitive, so being the third-best team in the conference should be considered high praise.

At the end of the day, this is a lateral move. At best, this deal makes the Timberwolves a little bit better. They basically exchanged Naz Reid and Julius Randle for LaMelo Ball, which isn't a great exchange. Minnesota doesn’t appear to be much closer to reaching the NBA Finals or winning a championship.

A very surprising move for the Hornets

This is a pretty shocking trade for the Hornets to make, considering Charlotte just had its best season in years! The Hornets went 44-38 during the 2025-26 campaign and even won a postseason game. That was the most wins they have had in a single season since they went 48-34 in 2016. To get rid of the face of the franchise after that level of success is perplexing.

Charlotte and Minnesota must’ve quietly been working on this deal for several days. After all, LaMelo Ball being on the trade block was only mentioned by Shams Charania late last night. Then, less than 12 hours later, Ball was traded to the Timberwolves. The Hornets and T-wolves did an excellent job of keeping trade talks on the down low.

It’s not a coincidence that the trade came together after the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft because the Hornets landed a point guard with one of their first-round picks: Texas Tech's Christian Anderson. Clearly, Charlotte believes in Anderson, who just turned 20 years old. He probably won't put up as many points as Ball, but he’s still an efficient scorer and a really good passer who’s at his best when dictating the offense with the ball in his hand. He wouldn't have been able to run the team as LaMelo Ball's backup, so the Hornets decided to move on from Ball, which also saves them a ton of money. Now, the pressure is on for Anderson to step up and be a key contributor when the season begins in October.

Some people do not think that the Hornets got a good enough return for a rising young star like LaMelo Ball, but I disagree. With the new NBA Draft Lottery rules, the Timberwolves' picks will be more valuable in three to seven years than they would be right now. Based on the new, flattened lottery odds, it's arguably better to have a middling team's first-round pick rather than a terrible team's first-rounder. Plus, Naz Reid is a really good contributor who will provide a ton of minutes off the bench while shoring up Charlotte's frontcourt, which was their weakness last year.

The Hornets may not be better off after this move, but they’re also not necessarily worse. There will be some growing pains early in the season, but with the additions of Anderson, Naz Reid, and rookie center Hannes Steinbach, Charlotte should still be able to compete for a postseason spot as a Play-In team. If Anderson and Steinbach can find their groove early, then there's no reason why the Hornets can't be a top-six team in the East.