The Minnesota Timberwolves made a big swing move to land LaMelo Ball. Clearly, they view him as the answer for the Anthony Edwards era in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, if the latest rumor comes true, they won’t only have to deal with the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder: They could have to deal with Nikola Jokic and Jaylen Brown.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Nuggets are one of the teams potentially showing interest in a trade for Brown with the Boston Celtics. A trio of Jokic, Brown, and Jamal Murray would immediately propel the Nuggets toward the top of the West, making the Wolves’ path to a title even harder.
So, they had better hope Ball and Edwards are enough to get the job done.
Timberwolves need LaMelo Ball to be enough to beat Nikola Jokic with a Jaylen Brown trade
It’s not easy to win in the NBA. In fact, considering there have been eight new NBA Champions in a row. Right now, it’s hard to get out of the West, let alone win it all.
That’s the position the Timberwolves are in. They have the talent at the top. Edwards is one of the best players in the NBA. And now, they have Ball to play right alongside him.
They made a giant trade with the Charlotte Hornets, flipping Naz Reid and a bunch of draft capital for Ball, who will now be the Wolves’ point guard of the future next to Edwards – something they’ve wanted to add for a long, long time.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are going to be a threat. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are going to be a threat. And if the Nuggets trade for Brown, that trio would be tough to beat, too.
Jokic is one of the best players in the world. He’s a three-time MVP. Absolutely elite. Adding another perimeter scorer like Brown to the mix would only elevate the Nuggets even more.
It would give the Wolves another tough team to have to get through if they want to reach their ultimate goal of trying to win an NBA Championship with Edwards and Ball.
The Wolves have already made their risky move. They’ve put all of their cards on the table. They have very little wiggle room to make more significant additions to the roster.
So, they had better hope Ball is enough to take down the Thunder. They had better hope he’s enough to take down the Spurs. And if the Nuggets trade for Brown, they had better hope Ball is enough to take down him, Jokic, and Murray.
