The Minnesota Timberwolves made waves on Thursday when they agreed to trade for LaMelo Ball. They will be giving up big man Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round draft pick, three second-round picks, and three first-round pick swaps to acquire the star point guard.
News broke on Wednesday that the Charlotte Hornets were shopping Ball, and it came as a surprise across the NBA, especially given that they won 28 of their last 38 games this past season. Now, the Timberwolves will look a lot different this October, as they already traded away three-time All-Star forward Julius Randle earlier this week.
The basketball world seems divided on whether Minnesota has made the right moves. Podcaster and FS1 personality Nick Wright believes that Minnesota nabbing Ball will ultimately lead to Anthony Edwards, its franchise player, becoming unhappy.
Nick Wright Predicts Anthony Edwards Will Request Trade Within 2 Years
Speaking on “What’s Wright? With Nick Wright,” the analyst audaciously predicted that Edwards will eventually ask out of Minnesota after the team’s gutsy moves don’t pan out.
“I think that in two years, when one of the big topics is, is Minnesota going to trade Anthony Edwards, that will be because this last week of moves has blown up on them,” Wright said.
Nick Wright says we will look back on the LaMelo Ball trade, similar to Dame Lillard going to Milwaukee that was the first big domino in the superstar asking out:
“I think in two years when one of the big topics is Minnesota going to trade Anthony Edwards, that will be because… https://t.co/fCTed4e5Er pic.twitter.com/kSQwVkudhE
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) June 25, 2026
The Timberwolves clearly needed a point guard, and Ball possesses many of the skills they desired at the position. He has career averages of 20.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, and he’s a very high-volume 3-point shooter who has a lifetime accuracy of 36.5% from long distance.
However, the 24-year-old has always been injury-prone, and he isn’t the most efficient scorer overall, as evidenced by his career 41.8% field-goal accuracy and 47.1% rate on 2-point shot attempts. He has appeared in more than 51 games in a season just twice in his six years in the NBA.
Wright Compares Ball’s Situation to Another Recently Traded Star
Wright later added that Ball going to Minnesota could turn out similarly to when the Milwaukee Bucks traded for Damian Lillard in the summer of 2023.
At the time, the Bucks were two years removed from winning the NBA championship and had just lost in the first round of the playoffs. It was thought that the addition of Lillard, a perennial All-Star point guard, would reopen their championship window.
Instead, Milwaukee lost again to the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2024 postseason. The following season, Lillard missed time due to a blood clot, then suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the first round of the playoffs as the Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers in five games.
That reportedly led to Giannis Antetokounmpo becoming disgruntled, and the two-time MVP will now be heading to Miami in a blockbuster trade that was agreed to on Monday.
Minnesota reached the Western Conference finals in 2024 and 2025 but lost in the second round of the postseason to the San Antonio Spurs this year.
Edwards is one of the NBA’s best and most exciting superstars, but with his 25th birthday approaching, he may start to get a little impatient about winning his first ring. His current contract runs through the 2028-29 season.
