Last week, we came on here to ask you all, off the backs of the Jonathan Kuminga signing and Cody Williams trade, which newcomer to the Minnesota Timberwolves you were most excited to see on the court. With such an action packed summer, filled with a full restructuring of the roster around Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, it was set to be an interesting conversation.
Maybe Isaiah Evans, a second-round pick from Duke who disappointed in Summer League, or Cody Williams, universally seen as the worst rotation player in the NBA last year, or even the confounding “Other” who never shows up on the box score aren’t big enough draws to be added to that list, but the idea was that there would be some difference in opinions.
Well, apparently not, as all of you are in consensus that the Spectacle’s NBA equivalent, the ever mercurial, sporadic but never boring LaMelo Ball is the player most Canis Hoopus readers can’t wait to see.
We haven’t seen a blowout this bad since the Wolves demolished the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Play-In a few years ago. Sheesh.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, though. Star players are always going to get the most eyes, and even if I voted for Cody Williams, I also understand that in this site full of basketball degenerates, I may be the most degenerate.
Ball is also an easy player to be excited about. Over the past five years, the Timberwolves have been looking for a solid point guard option next to Anthony Edwards. D’Angelo Russell flamed out after being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers during a hot stretch that brought back maybe the best heist the Wolves have ever pulled off. Mike Conley Jr. was excellent, but age ultimately caught up with him, before he was dumped in Chicago and then returned to Minnesota, only to head to Boston this offseason.
The graveyard of failed guards next to Ant still holds some excellent players. Nickeil Alexander-Walker was one of the best developmental stories in Wolves history, but a point guard, he was not. Bones Hyland has far too many nights in which he destroys his own value with shot-chucking to be considered a solution.
Even the most recent hope, Ayo Dosunmu, is a quality wing off the bench, but he cannot be a point guard. He simply does not make the players around him sufficiently better.
Enter LaMelo Ball, who is expected to be a revelation for a team that has lacked ball-handling and playmaking to an extreme ever since Conley’s decline.
If the already excellent Wolves can fix their biggest hole without losing their defensive identity – one which has always been set by Rudy Gobert, who remains on the roster – they’re set to re-enter contention status after a Mickey Mouse Conference Finals run in 2024-25 and a disappointing collapse last year.
The Timberwolves are currently +1500 to win the West, the fourth-highest odds in the conference, and +3000 to win the franchise’s first title, according to FanSided, in case you want to take a gamble.
This season is set to be a pretty massive one for the Wolves. As the offseason comes to a close and the Los Angeles Clippers are moved to the G-League, it’s worth looking at just how much depends on this year for Minnesota.
They’ve tapped out their assets for a trio of young stars, all drafted in 2020. They’ve exhausted their draft picks and their movable deals.
If the Anthony Edwards era is supposed to last as long as many fans want it to, the Wolves will need to take a big step forward from a team that had reached its peak to one that can dream once again.
With that in mind, how could the answer ever have been anyone outside of the one and only LaMelo Ball?
