LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves! Reactions and Grades. Plus, Mets Corner!

The Zach Lowe Show

The Zach Lowe Show breaks down the LaMelo Ball trade from Charlotte to Minnesota, analyzing its implications for both teams, the Timberwolves' gamble on Ball alongside Anthony Edwards, and Charlotte's surprising rebuild. The episode also covers the Mets' struggles and fan culture, with a lighthearted 'Met's Corner' segment.

Key takeaways

• Timberwolves trade for Ball to pair with Edwards, betting on offense over defense.
• Charlotte trades Ball for assets, signaling a full rebuild despite his strong season.
• Ball’s fit in Minnesota is polarizing—high upside but defensive concerns remain.

Transcript preview

Coming up on the Zach Lowe show, we're back. We're already back after analyzing a whole big pile of NBA news just yesterday. Here we are again, Lamello ball traded from Charlotte to Minnesota along with Josh Green for Nause Reed and a whole bunch of draft assets going back to the Charlotte Hornets. Minnesota uses the last bullets in its NBA trade chamber for the Melo ball. ball to pair him with Anthony Edwards after losing Julius Randall and now Nas Reed two of their three core big men a complete sea change of identity a gamble on one of the most polarizing players in the NBA is it a smart gamble is it a dumb gamble what are the wolves doing does this give them any kind of shot to compete in the Western conference is it the wrong player to go all in on we talk all about that with John Krasinskii and then we also discuss the Charlotte and wow what an astonishing response the most exciting hornets season in a long time. Talk about ruthlessly taking the long view. Was this a little too ruthless or what is Charlotte up to in getting off a little mellow ball? Is it just health related? Is there something more? We talk about that and then most sticks around to talk about Warriors future, LeBron future, Pistons sniffing around some interesting stuff, everything that's going on in the NBA and then it's time. It's been a while we're back on Met's Corner and it's not going great. Sean Fenice is here. That's coming up. Charlotte Hornets, the feel-good story of the second half, a legitimate, semi-dominant second half of the season, and out goes their offensive engine on the pair with Anthony Edwards in his draft class back in the day in Minnesota. In exchange, Timberwolves fan favorite, Nas Reed, whose very name is just code for being a fan and for being awesome. People just say the name Nas Reed as they walk around Minneapolis. And an unprotected 2033 first round. three first round pick swaps in 2028, 2029, 2030, and three second round picks. Josh Green also goes to Minnesota, which is not a trivial bit of salary. A blockbuster and just a fascinating deal, a fascinating vote of no confidence by the Hornets in Lameleball after his healthiest season in a long time after their most successful season in ages, a season that ended for the third time in Lamele Ball's career in a play-in low out, which I think is not here and then on the flip side a fascinating bet by the Minnesota Timberwolves who salary dumped Julius Randall in order to do something like this I think they have another move coming in free agency likely to address the void at power forward a complete sea change for the Timberwolves two of their three main rotation big men Randall and Reed are gone and in their places a guard heavy faster smaller more dynamic potentially offensive team with Goberg there still on the back line John Krasinsky from the athletic is here mowed from everywhere is here. Guys, this is a fun one. How's everybody doing great, Zach? Super fun, yeah, it's like, I went to bed last night thinking it could happen, woke up this morning and it did happen and credit the wolves man, they are never shy about making polarizing big deals in trying to go for it and here they go again. You ain't kidding, John. Tim Connolly is now traded for literally two of like the five most polarizing players in the NBA. that Rudy Gohbert and now L'Amello ball, obviously the price for Lamello lower than what they paid for Roo-Goh Bear, but I want to start, first of all, Mo, how are you? I'm doing a well, and the kind of echo John's sense of it's, I woke up this morning, you know, started doing my routine, making the coffee for my wife, all that stuff, and then, you know, it's like, oh, wait a minute, I should check and I'm like, oh, the trade did go through. That kind of started. I was like, just turned to my wife going like, I probably will be on the microphone a lot today. Yeah, Lamello, three years at about 43 million a pop left on his contract. Nas Rhes had three plus one at about 23, 24 a pop. And in addition, this I should mention, right away, the Hornets, re-signed Kobe White, or agreed to terms with Kobe White, three years, 74 million dollars. He will likely replace little Melle ball as the starting point guard of the Hornets. is not really a point guard. Super interesting. I'll get to the Charlotte end of it in a bit. John, is this going to work in Minnesota? Because the bullets are out of the chamber. The only bullets left in the seven years where teams can trade picks and swaps and all of that are now trading out of your asset class of very good players. That's the only way you can sort of flip the table and recoup draft assets. So this is a, hey, if Anthony Edwards is you've been wondering a little bit about this. new ownership regime about whether there's going to be some penny pinching about, wait, we just traded Julius Randall who flamed out in the playoffs again, how are we going to compete what's happening right now? This is the answer to that question. I've heard Lamello is very excited about this, despite some shell shock that Charlotte dumped him after what a wonderful feel good story. And he and aunt have known each other for a long time. What's your initial take on this? Yeah, I think that I will say I've talked to so many people within the organization. today about how this came about and what they thought and I put it out on social media but the overwhelming reaction has been elation and when you think about all of the questions that are around Lamello's game around maybe his maturity and all of those things you would think there would be a little bit more kind of yeah well we'll see but they have been trying to get Lamello ball for a couple of years now they've checked in several times the Charlotte Hornets to see if they would be willing to part with him because they think that his passing, his playmaking, his shot creation, his handling is exactly what they need next to Anthony Edwards and they believe, Zach, that bringing Lamello ball into an organization that has been in the second round three straight years that has won at a pretty high level that has veteran guys who know what it takes to be competitive in this league. They think that will be good for Lamello ball. that he will get into this culture and they will help cover up whatever weaknesses he has but they needed a point guard to take some of the pressure off of Anthony Edwards. They needed someone so that the spurs and thunder could not just mercilessly double ant as soon as he walked across half court and they see Lameleball as that type of a player and I mean people are just doing backflips over there right now about being able to get him. Minnesota Timberwolves a letter grade for this trade and I'm only doing this to set something up but I just give me your just quick letter grade Minnesota Timberwolves acquire Lamello ball for Nas Reed and all these draft assets and they get Josh Green too. Yeah I'm probably gonna go with a C-plus and I think part of it is the price they paid. It's it's I'm not as worried as everybody else about Pixops but I still think it's a high price in terms of the 2033 unprotected future 28 to 30 pick swaps and things like that and that might not matter at all but I think I think two of those picks swaps 29 and 30 John you've probably read the 17 paragraphs on real GM more closely than I have today have already been previously swapped so this is now swaps of swaps and I got to tell you there comes a point where even I am like just fucking wake me up when these swaps can bay but in this in this new lottery regime if it persists into these years those swaps could be valuable but continue mow you are you are giving them 78% C-plus, do better, see me after class. Well, it's more the cost of what I worry about is what could you have done down the road better in the future? You know, what what are you get? What guy is going to come up available and we're going to be like, damn, which we waited and made, and we could have made this offer and beat that? You know, I think the challenge also for me where I'm really most concerned for the wolves is the defense event. Like, like, Lameelo has never really that much interest into it comes and goes he has the sides where you think he should be at least a average defender but a lot of times it seems like he's uninterested in that regard so I worry in that area and then they're incredibly thin like you said Zach they got a look and we think another move is gonna come at some point with a power forward you know but it's now Rudy Goberg, it's Beringger coming into a second year where it's not like he played a ton of minutes last year where we could feel confident and I think he's going to be good but I think he's going to be good but I still of work. I'm just kind of worried of, you know, if this was your last bullet, did you really have to fire it right now at this moment and was this the right guy to target? So that's kind of where I'm concerned. Offensively, everything works for me. And then you go off the ball, Lamello working, you know, all that stuff. I do worry a little bit about still shot selection stuff. Hopefully they can, Finch can beat that out of him a little bit, but we'll see what happens. So, so to be clear, to be clear, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves. The wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolves, the wolf, right at the first apron as of now. They're not capped at the first apron. They haven't done anything to prohibit themselves from going over. I expect that they will go over the first apron to address this whole at power forward. And like I don't really even know. I think they have to figure out what their starting lineup is. One one iteration is Lamello and McDaniel's and go bare and go bare at the five. And another is, and another is, let's just put McDaniel's at the four, start all the guards together and go bare at the five. Junior is a critical backup now who can play the three and the four for them and Baron J. Baron J is, you know, they love him and he's gonna get a chance to play now. Josh Green could help them and just the ball I. O'O and Trio being able to have at least one and probably two of those guys on the floor at all times sort of mitigates the pain of Mike Connolly not being here next year. Bons Highland we'll see was a big part of their team. Is he gonna be around next year? That's a lot of I asked Mo for the letter grade because he gave it a C-plus. To point out how polarizing this trade is, John, I'm sure you've seen, the wolves are getting D's in a lot of places. I only read a couple because I wanted to get a sense. And I think this is a really interesting trade for both teams. I think it could go really badly for either team. I think the most likely scenario in my opinion is it goes pretty well for both teams. and I'm including the wolves in that. I get what I'm always talking about about the opportunity costs. I talked about it with the heat and Yontas. When you put your chips in for this particular player, you got no more chips for the next particular program. I went through the heat, like, okay, who in the next three years? What kind of stars are going to become available that you could have thrown this gigantic trade package? and a good player. So I don't even think they would have been competitive in that class of players that I talked about with Miami, Donovan Mitchell. I just made up names, like guys in tier one MBA guide, unless they were going to throw in a McDaniels or somebody that they did not want to throw in. So I don't think the opportunity cost is is that that severe. It does lock them in really to this team unless they flip one of these main guys and go a different direction. I would give it probably a B plus. I as many people know and one of the top 10% Lamello fans in the national media I think he's been wildly underrated this entire time very carnival-esque some shot selection issues and late-game brainfarts that made you wonder like does this guy like know what the score is and that these NBA games count in the standings and that there's like a prize at the end for the team that wins but I thought he cleaned up a lot of that last year when he got a real team around him he started to try more on defense. And I just broadly think that the fit with Ant is going to be really, really good. And the fit with I. O'O and Ant and him together, their ability for Ant to run inverted pick and rolls and hunt small defenders and all that stuff is going to be really good. And to the point about Lamello's carnival-esque elements, his carelessness, his laissez-faire, to use a French term on a team that just loves French players. to see Lamello ball as the clear-cut number two guy at best on a team after being the number one guy on a bad team for most of his career. I think there's like a material difference between how he will have to play with Anthony Edwards over him in the org chart and between Ant, who can dial it up on defense when he wants to, McDaniels who's an all-defensive level player, and Goh Bear who's an all-defensive player who's used to putting out fires all around him. And I think they have the ability to kind of protect him a little bit more on defense than they're being given credit for. I think this is going to work in terms of giving the wolves a different look, a more interesting diverse look on offense. I don't think they're going to win a championship with it, but I also don't think any path is likely to make you championship favorites in a world where the spurs and the thunder exist and that's an unfair grading curve. And at the very least, they're going to... can't beat San Antonio in Oklahoma City by trying to play like them. They are now going to go at these teams with a completely different, free-flowing, fast, guard-heavy dynamic that is at least going to make them different and tap into a different set of strength. So I like, I get the risk and I'm going to talk about why Charlotte moved on from a mellow ball and why he's even available to begin with and all the negatives that come with it. I like this as a gamble from Minnesota. I think this as a gamble from Minnesota. I would, I think the wildly too low on the mellow and I think this will work to a reasonable degree. Do you agree John or am I crazy? Yeah, no I mean I definitely see the optimism and it might I would say like my only reservation and I'm interested to hear both of you talk about this is Why another organization gives up on an ultra-popular player when he's 24 years old? I'm gonna have to go to pick up my daughter at swim practice and there's gonna be crying answering their questions about the Knicks which is fun and now they're gonna be like what do I do at this Jersey that I have I don't know what they're gonna be inconsolable exactly they I mean he's ultra popular he had a very very good season last year I mean the all NBA votes deservedly the advanced metrics are off the charts plus 11 when he's on the floor offensively plus nine plus ten when from a net rating like he really did have a great great season and so you then you just like the Hornets windy what's going on in Charlotte like why are they why are they doing this and so that's my one reservation but I will say this and watching this timber wolves team when when you they got dismissed by the spurs in the second round something needed to change in a material way if they were going to continue to show Anthony Edwards that they are committed to winning that they are trying to make up ground on the spurs and the thunder and the things that stuck in Anthony Edwards-Cra the most coming out of that series was these guys and he didn't use guys used much more derogatory terms were doubling me immediately what am I supposed to do against that and the spurs did not have to worry about Julius Randall hurting them from three did not have to worry about kind of many of the things of offen-Rutie Go Bear at all well and even even Centso's injury was a big part of that right like huge part but like and then guess what they aunt sees cat win a championship like that those are like important things in the in in building to get to why the wolves did this and so if you're looking for ways to lighten Anthony Edwards load the most lemello ball is right at the top of the list the guys who can do that in terms of getting ant off the ball more and is one of the best catch and shoot shooters in the lead and he didn't get enough of those opportunities last year. Lamello is gonna get those to him all of the time. And so, and they're just gonna be, with O'Mello, there's gonna be an electricity here, man. Like, you know, that we talked a lot about this team being kind of moody, a little downtrodden and sullen a lot last year. Well, Mello is gonna come in and gonna be throwing the ball all over the place, it might go into the third row, who knows, but he's going to bring some juice. And I do you, and I do you. And I do you, and I do you're, and I do you're, and I do you're, and I do you're, and I do you're, and I do you're, and I do you're, and I do you're, and I do you're, and I do welcomed on this team. Look, he's gonna take some crazy shots, the one-legged threes that drive everyone bananas that went in more than I think people want to give him credit for because when they miss, particularly early in the shot clock, it just looks like like heresy basically, like basketball heresy. And I get it. I've always said you can't find the size, the passing, and the shooting in one package very often. And it's why I was always gonna bet on the I was always going to stick with him as an NBA prospect and an all-star-level player and I thought last year he really did make real efforts to A try to wriggle his way into the paint more and get to the line more sometimes successfully sometimes not B modulate his late-game decision-making a little bit remember this is a guy who James Abreigo would bench in clutch time a lot because of just how unreliable his like time score awareness was and defensively he's always been a gambler that's never gonna change. I thought just sort of play with a little more alertness and physicality getting around screens and stuff last season than he ever did before. And I think this is going to work offensively, pace, space, match up versatility, all that stuff. Obviously they've got some holes to fill out. And to your question, the why, why would Charlotte do this? issues in the past and selling high after his first healthy season in a long time. All the decision-making stuff and defensive limitations that I just talked about and what that means for if he's the best or co-best player on your team, how far are you really getting. I think they've now insulated themselves looking forward from if you just project optimistically, Max for Brandon Miller, Max for Con Knipple, 3 maxes or 3 max level contracts. It's just really hard to them. and they've given themselves more optionality, obviously more draft as the team has a ton of valuable draft picks starting with Dallas's top two protective pick next year. All of that is well and good. If you ask me why did they do this? I think it really comes down to a physical toughness question that they have about Lamella ball. That you watch these playoff series, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, New York, and you just envision like this is a dude, a dude. is too strong of a term fast and loose like when the game's fun that's when he's at his best what are you gonna do in game five old playoff series when Steph Castle has been in your jersey for five stray games when you're switching between jail and Williams and case in Wallace and Alex Caruso bumping you physically just manhandling you up and down the court are you actually game for that because if you're gonna be a serious team that's what you got to be game for and I think this trade says yes there these salary pick benefits and faith in Brandon Miller and Conkopil and all that. The Hornets know the numbers. They know their offense wasn't good when Lamello was on the bench. They know all of that stuff and they decided they decided anyway that we just don't think we can win the biggest games with this guy on our team. I think that's really what it boils down to and just to wrap a bow on that before I shoot at Mo. I think these play in disasters have factored into it. Now, there was like a four year last play in disaster in the current one and but if you look at Lamellos and the Hornets numbers 2021, 22, 2026, I mean they just got railroaded every time they were in the playin. Some of that was his fault, some of it was not. He did have 30 in the first playing game, that thriller over Miami this year that they won. And I don't think he was really the problem when they lost by a million points to Orlando. He had 23 points in that game. They were only minus nine when he was on the floor. Kind of floor. Kind of. Kind of. Kind of. Kind of. Kind of. But I think in totality, they were just like, we haven't really seen this guy in a serious NBA game and we can't picture him in those serious NBA games where it's just so physical. Like the rest in the playoffs and the playoffs let these scenes be so physical. Is he gonna be able to withstand that? Mo, what do you think of all that? Yeah, I mean, I think that's a big reason for it when they kind of looked at it, you touched on it. This is what everybody's doing, right, right? talking about it, right? Like, can I see these guys playing in playoff games? Can I see, can they hold up? And I think, you know, Charlotte just kind of said, they just sort of said, we don't think he could do it. We don't think he could hold up in the playoffs. That's why they're so willing to get off him. And then obviously all the other details, contracts and all that stuff to come and how it kind of changes the team. They found the right opportunity to sort of jump ahead. This is a cell high moment for them. way. I think he played 72 games through the course of the season. It's their opportunity right there. They can't go into next season and hope it, you know, for them, hope it works out again because if he gets hurt or whatnot and he's out for a long time, the team's gonna tank and then on top of that, his value is gonna tank. So for them it was a cell high opportunity to kind of answer the question, John as to why they would, why a team would give up so on their guys so quickly after the year that they had. how he handles being the number two guy this is a new scenario for him now for the most part especially after the last few years when Charlotte's been really bad he's been able to just kind of do whatever he wants now will he be a little bit more disciplined can he come in and be a little bit more straight line into these things like you know can he do even a little bit more defensively than what he shows he should be able to I mean he's already an elite defensive rebounder and so he has decides to do that go back to Minnesota. I will say the other thing is they sold high the Hornets did. They better be competitive next year because if they take a huge step back and the fan duel odds are producer Mike sent me the fan duel odds they did not take a big step back at fan duel in terms of their conference finals odds and all that and I think that's appropriate like I think they should be decent again next year. Khan gets better Miller gets better and healthier. Kobe white who I think that three year 74 million dollar deal is fine. Nas Reed we haven't is a huge addition who can, I think, walks in as their starting power forward after having the starting power forward job in Minnesota for like 24 hours after the Julius Randall trade. I don't know what that means for Miles Bridges. It could be a bench roll, it could be a trade. I think Nas Reed will play some backup five. Their depth is still really solid. The Hornets have a lot of decent players coming off the bench, including the two guys that they just drafted. So I think they should be solid, but if they're not, this is going to be a tough pill, And look, I'm just saying, I'm just going to point this out, Lamello on the floor plus nine per 100 possessions. Lamello off the floor plus one and a half per 100 possessions. And that doesn't change much if you isolate from January on. In 350-ish minutes with Khan and Miller on the floor and Lamello off the floor, minus 11 and a half per 100 possessions. And look, like Kobe White and Miller and Knei. only played 45 minutes together the whole season. So we have not seen a lot of all those guys together and I think the Hornets are right to have faith that Kobe White can be a bit of a stabilizer and that all that, you know, everything will lift up to a decent level. But there is a risk in just that sense of are they underestimating Lamello's impact on their offense. I personally think that they are, but that they can survive it and at least hover around where they were last year. But I don't know that they're going to be, you know, you know that, you know, you're going to, you're going to, you're going to, you know, you're going to, you're going to, you know, you know, you're going to, you're going to, you know, you know, you know, you're going to, you're going to, you know, you know, you're going to, you know, you're going to, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know 50-something games like sure. I don't see that now and I don't see that kind of upside now and that's okay given the long-term stuff that they've probably opened up and if they're right about Lamello it's