Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, is never afraid to make a bold move, and he proved this again by trading for LaMelo Ball.
It was clear that the Wolves needed to upgrade their roster after their second-round exit to the San Antonio Spurs. Without a doubt, Minnesota needed to upgrade its secondary creation, playmaking and 3-point shooting around Anthony Edwards. Ball fits all of these needs in a major way.
The bigger picture, though, is that to compete against the elite defenses that the Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have, you need a lot of shooting and ball-handling. How else do you negate those teams' special blend of rim protection and perimeter defense?
The New York Knicks are living proof of this being a winning recipe. Yes, some level of two-way balance is also needed, which, with Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, the Wolves certainly have.
Minnesota had no chance of beating the Thunder or Spurs before this move. And while the Wolves still aren't favorites against these two juggernauts, their increased shooting and ball-handling give them a real chance.
How LaMelo Ball could unlock the blueprint to toppling the Spurs and Thunder
Last season, the Wolves ranked just 14th in made 3-pointers and 17th in 3-point attempts. With Donte DiVincenzo injured, the Wolves desperately needed to find a way to bolster their 3-point shooting this offseason, and trading for Ball does just that. He ranked third in made 3-pointers per game.
Whether it's shooting off the dribble or off the catch, Ball is a prolific 3-point shooter who can help transform Minnesota's outside shooting.
His gravity and versatility as a shooter will unlock a new element in the Wolves' offense, and it will make life infinitely easier for Edwards. Again, the only way to negate the rim protection of Victor Wembanyama and the Thunder's big men is to beat them from outside the arc. And Minnesota is now well-positioned to do just that.
It's worth noting that the Spurs and Thunder are both average 3-point shooting teams as well. Notably, OKC ranked 13th in made 3s and San Antonio 16th in made 3s this past season. As such, the recipe of leaning into 3-point shooting is a logical one to match up better with these two teams.
Just as importantly, both San Antonio and OKC have tenacious perimeter defenses. We saw in the second-round against San Antonio and in the conference finals against OKC in 2025 how difficult this style of defense is when you don't have high-level perimeter creators and ball-handlers alongside Ant.
In both series (and frankly even in many regular season games), teams were able to relentlessly double-team and trap Edwards. This won't be a problem for the Wolves with Ball in the mix.
The lack of playmaking and high-end ball-handling has long been an issue for Minnesota. Last year, they ranked 28th for both clutch time turnover percentage and potential assists. That's not a championship recipe, especially against the top-end defenses in the league.
Say what you will about LaMelo (yes, he has some lapses as a decision-maker), but he's still one of the best (and most versatile) passers in the league. Likewise, he is a dazzling ball-handler who can create advantages for himself and others.
Pairing a player with this level of creation, playmaking and shooting with Edwards not only forms an elite backcourt and solves a major problem, but it also gives the Wolves a path to beating the two best teams in the West.
Say what you will about Tim Connelly, but he's always been ahead of the curve. Of course, in 2022, he famously assembled a frontcourt that proved to be the Denver Nuggets' kryptonite by trading for Rudy Gobert.
Now, the Wolves are going in the opposite direction by leaning into perimeter players and shooting.
While the Wolves could still stand to benefit from adding some more frontcourt size, by improving their shooting and playmaking, they are in a much better position to compete for a title in a league dominated by teams with elite rim protection.
