The Minnesota Timberwolves deserve credit for not taking their playoff failures lying down. Instead of doubling down on their core, they are mixing it up and just made one of their biggest splashes: landing LaMelo Ball. Quite a notable addition, but was this the right decision for the Timberwolves?
Danny Green ‘Confused’ by Timberwolves Trading for LaMelo Ball
Three-time NBA Champion and ESPN analyst Danny Green vocalized his understanding of how exciting this trade could be while also voicing his confusion at the Timberwolves’ decision during his appearance on SportsCenter.
“I think at first, most people are excited,” Green said. “This is going to be an exciting backcourt. They have a lot of superstardom. They can make highlight plays, but I’m a bit confused in the direction that Minnesota is going in. You let go of your big men.”
“You only have Rudy (Gobert) left. Naz Reid was a good stretch-four. Julius Randle was able to start the offense pick-and-pop as well, so they had some great pieces at that position, but now they’re very guard-heavy.”
“Again, I don’t know if this is a step back. It seems like it’s a step back right now, but sometimes you might need a step back to take a step forward. But, yeah, right now, they have some work to do to fill out the rest of their depth sheet, and the roster to get some shooting and get some big men around them.”
“I’m a bit confused in the direction that Minnesota’s going in. … It seems like it’s a step back right now, but sometimes you might need a step back to take a step forward.”@DGreen_14 reacts to the Wolves trading for LaMelo Ball ✍️ pic.twitter.com/lo5FlQSdAi
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 26, 2026
Green makes a fair point here that the Timberwolves’ frontcourt, which was once considered one of the NBA’s best, now has only one proven player on the roster with Gobert. For now, their roster makeup seems confusing, but we have to wait and see what they plan to do next before making any judgments.
What had previously been the Timberwolves’ downfall was their lack of a hybrid scorer and playmaker, a hole that Ball definitely fills on his own. With Ball, Gobert, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Ayo Dosunmu, the Timberwolves have one of the NBA’s best starting fives, but the league has also demonstrated that teams need more than that to contend.
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So all that’s left is seeing who can round out the rest of their big man rotation. There will be some options, though not great ones, like Nikola Vučević and Nick Richards, but adding one of them is a better alternative than having Gobert play all 48 minutes.
If the Timberwolves are able to adequately replace the frontcourt depth they lost, then the Lamelo Ball trade will make a lot more sense.
