BREAKING: LaMelo Ball Traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves

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After reports that the Charlotte Hornets were open to trading him on the second night of the 2026 NBA Draft, LaMelo Ball has been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Reported by Shams Charnia, the trade goes as follows:

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive:

LaMelo Ball
Josh Green

Charlotte Hornets Receive:

Naz Reid
2033 Unprotected first-round pick
Three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, & 2030)
Three second-round picks (2029, 2032, & 2033)

The Timberwolves find a star guard to pair next to their superstar shooting guard, Anthony Edwards. Ball, the #3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, joins the #1 pick of the same draft class. Ball would spend six seasons and just over 300 games in Charlotte, with the team finally showing promise in his last season with the team. In 72 games (his most games played since the 2021-22 season), Ball would average 20.1 PPG, 7.1 APG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.2 SPG. Ball would shift more into a secondary role last season as the Hornets surprised the league in the second half of the season, helping lead the team to the play-in tournament behind a 33-16 record from January 1st, 2026, to the end of the season.

Ball gives the Wolves a point guard that they desperately need to run the floor. While he is not one of the league’s best defenders, Ball can set the tone and create his own shot, which will help take some of the pressure off Anthony Edwards.

The trade comes at a questionable cost, though. The one player from Minnesota heading to Charlotte is Naz Reid, the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year. Reid would play 77 games last season, averaging 13.6 PPG and 6.2 RPG, finishing top five in Sixth Man of the Year voting for the third year in a row. The expectation would be that Reid would be the Wolves’ starting power forward following the trade of Julius Randle on Monday night, but with Reid being traded to Charlotte, there are questions of what Minnesota is doing with their frontcourt and if this was another cost-cutting measure by the new ownership.

For Charlotte, they get a star-potential forward in Reid to put next to their promising young core of Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and Coby White (depending on free agency) as they look to make the step from the play-in to the playoffs next season. With recent changes to the NBA Draft lottery, the draft pick and swaps they received from Minnesota will be some of the most valuable in the league. While 2033 is still seven seasons out, there is no guarantee Anthony Edwards or LaMelo Ball will still be with the team by then. With those stars potentially gone, the 2033 pick could land in the lottery, giving the best odds to land the #1 pick in the draft. With the swaps in 2028, 2029, and 2030, the expectation from Charlotte is that those picks will be more valuable than their own if things do not work out in Minnesota.

After a summer that has seen Minnesota make numerous moves ahead of free agency, there are questions of how the team will look come the start of the season and how the new backcourt duo of Edwards and Ball will play together on the court while still competing in a stacked Western Conference. Minnesota would be in rumors for several players before the Ball trade, with notable names including Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kyrie Irving. For Charlotte, they move on from Ball after six seasons and little progress in becoming a playoff contender as they look to focus on their core of Miller and Knueppel.