The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to trade All-Star guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a deal that delivers Minnesota the co-star it has been searching for alongside Anthony Edwards and sets Charlotte on a new path built around draft capital and internal development.
In exchange for Ball and forward Josh Green, the Hornets will receive center Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, three second-round picks in 2029, 2032, and 2033, along with first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029, and 2030. Multiple teams had pursued Ball aggressively in recent days before Minnesota ultimately won the negotiations.
What each team is building toward
For the Timberwolves, the trade resolves a glaring problem. The team had been searching for a point guard capable of sharing the burden with Edwards ever since losing their primary playmaker to an Achilles injury during last season’s playoffs. Minnesota’s front office had pursued multiple marquee names over the past several months without success, making Ball a particularly meaningful acquisition.
The Timberwolves now have a young backcourt of Edwards, 24, and Ball, who turns 25 in August, alongside 25-year-old wing Jaden McDaniels. All three players are under contract through the 2028-29 season, giving Minnesota a defined competitive window with a core group in the prime of their development. Ball has three years remaining on his current deal and will be eligible to sign a two-year extension valued at over $119 million beginning July 6.
Reid, the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year, gives Charlotte a proven NBA contributor at 26 who averaged 13.6 points and 6.2 rebounds last season while shooting above 37 percent from three-point range over the course of his career. He provides immediate production while the Hornets develop the young players around whom their next chapter will be built.
Ball’s time in Charlotte
Ball spent six seasons in Charlotte, a run shaped by significant stretches of individual excellence and equally significant stretches of injury that prevented the partnership from fully reaching its potential. From his second season through his fourth, he played just 105 combined regular-season games, limiting what both he and the team could accomplish during what should have been formative developmental years.
Last season was the most complete version of his Hornets career. He appeared in 72 games, averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.8 rebounds, and made a game-winning layup in overtime during the play-in tournament as Charlotte nearly ended a postseason drought stretching back to 2016. The Hornets had gone from 19 wins two years earlier to 44 wins last season, a transformation that Ball was central to producing.
He won Rookie of the Year in his first season and was named an All-Star in his second. His presence was the defining feature of a franchise that had not been relevant for years, and his departure closes a chapter that had genuine high points despite the injury-interrupted middle section.
Charlotte’s path forward
The Hornets will not be rebuilding from scratch. Brandon Miller averaged more than 20 points per game last season and is expected to step into a larger leadership role. A young guard acquired at the trade deadline averaged 15.6 points in limited time and intends to sign a multi-year deal to remain with the team. Rookie Kon Knueppel, who led all first-year players in three-pointers made last season and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, gives Charlotte genuine long-term upside.
Charlotte also used this week’s draft to add a rebounding big man and a guard from the Big 12. The combination of young talent, retained veterans, and the draft capital acquired in the Ball trade gives the Hornets tools to rebuild with purpose rather than simply reset.
