Charlotte Hornets trade LaMelo Ball to Minnesota Timberwolves

While some trade buzz surrounding ball had picked up steam in the hours before the deal, Thursday’s trade was largely a shocker as the Hornets hadn’t publicly shopped ball on the trade market.

Ball and the Hornets were coming off one of the most exciting seasons in franchise history after finishing 44-38 and missing the playoffs by just a single play-in loss.

He was the engine of Charlotte’s dynamic offense, averaging 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 72 appearances.

Now, he’ll be paired up with fellow 2020 draftee Anthony Edwards in Minnesota to formulate one of the most exciting backcourt duos in the NBA.

The Timberwolves were able to keep Rudy Gobert to continue anchoring the defense, while adding an elite scorer that can take some of the offensive pressure off of Edwards.

For the Hornets, the move opens up trade exemption space to make another move, something they will likely need to do if they want to break a 10-year playoff drought.

Reid comes in to address a major need in Charlotte’s frontcourt, but Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel will now be expected to play larger roles within the offense.

The stunning move indicated that the Timberwolves are in “win-now” mode and that the Hornets felt they needed to move on from their franchise point guard in exchange for Reid and a hefty amount of draft capital