Those departures leave a big hole in the leadership category. Anthony Edwards has gotten increasingly more vocal over the years and is stepping it up even more this summer. He has been spending time at the team’s practice facility in Minnesota and taking extra care to make sure LaMelo Ball feels welcome in his new home. And it was Edwards and Ball, according to team sources who spoke to The Athletic on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on team discussions, who offered to foot the bill for the entire team to fly to Paris for the workouts. “He’s extremely excited about the (Ball) deal,” Chris Finch told The Athletic at summer league in July. “Now, it’s up to him to take the next step in leadership. His voice
has grown intelligently and appropriately over the last few seasons. And now, it’s got to be the combination of the voice plus the everyday presence.”
More on LaMelo Ball & Anthony Edwards: Recent HoopsHype Rumors
Those departures leave a big hole in the leadership category. Anthony Edwards has gotten increasingly more vocal over the years and is stepping it up even more this summer. He has been spending time at the team’s practice facility in Minnesota and taking extra care to make sure LaMelo Ball feels welcome in his new home. And it was Edwards and Ball, according to team sources who spoke to The Athletic on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on team discussions, who offered to foot the bill for the entire team to fly to Paris for the workouts. “He’s extremely excited about the (Ball) deal,” Chris Finch told The Athletic at summer league in July. “Now, it’s up to him to take the next step in leadership. His voice has grown intelligently and appropriately over the last few seasons. And now, it’s got to be the combination of the voice plus the everyday presence.” — 8/11/2026 New York Times
Rudy Gobert has some company in France. The Minnesota Timberwolves star big man is spending the offseason in his home country, but that clearly does not mean that he’s far away from his teammates. In fact, Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball and many other Minnesota players flew across the pond and met up with the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winner in Paris. Here is a photo of Gobert with his Timberwolves teammates against the backdrop of the marvelous structure the “Stifle Tower” is nicknamed after. — 8/9/2026 Clutch Points
Chris Finch on Anthony Edwards playing point guard and Wolves picking up LaMelo Ball: “In the playoffs it was just double team after double team. We got to get him back to his natural position off the ball. We didn’t create enough catch and shoot threes for him and when you look at the numbers with LaMelo on the floor with his teammates and the efficiency and the production, I mean Kon Knueppel shot 7% higher from the three-point line with LaMelo on the floor than he did without. I mean that’s a massive stat for a great shooter and that’s a big bump for a great shooter.” — 8/6/2026 YouTube
Chris Finch on Anthony Edwards shaking hands early with Spurs: “I think it’s probably one of the more misunderstood things that actually has happened… I saw him walk down there and then when he came back, I said, “You’re not going to the locker room, are you?” Because that would have been a bad look. He goes, “Hell no, coach. I’m staying out here for my guys.” He wanted to just when the buzzer sounded he wanted to go you know, because he’s disappointed and what he went through to get back and playin that series. Was admirable. I mean we all was in awe of what he was able to do.” — 8/6/2026 YouTube
LaMelo Ball is allegedly leaving Charlotte with some unpaid debts. Court records viewed by The California Post on Tuesday show Ball was sued Monday — just weeks after he was traded from the Hornets to the Timberwolves — over accusations he owes a North Carolina landlord more than $100,000 in missed rent checks. According to a copy of the lawsuit, Ball and Agape Property Management Group entered into an agreement in December 2020 for the NBA player to rent two swanky units in a fancy uptown Charlotte condominium complex. — 7/29/2026 New York Post
As a result, LA Superior Court justice Anne Kiley has issued a ruling dubbing her 'a vexatious litigant' and banning her from filing further claims in the City of Angels. The court also found there is no evidence that Howard has spent enough time in Los Angeles to call the city home and that the baby was not conceived there. — 7/29/2026 Daily Mail
The Minnesota Timberwolves player, 24, has been locked in a year-long fight over child support with Howard, despite having already paid her over $110,000 towards the upkeep of their toddler daughter Aubri. Both Howard and Edwards had been slugging it out in Atlanta, where both are from, only for Howard to file a second suit in Los Angeles where paternity payouts are more generous. Now, court papers obtained by the Daily Mail show Howard's suit has been thrown out after she failed to provide any evidence of residency on the West Coast and did not show up for trial on the matter. — 7/29/2026 Daily Mail
Tommy Beer: Most points in the clutch in the playoffs over the past three years combined: 1. Jalen Brunson: 143. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 84 3. Tyrese Haliburton: 48 4. Anthony Edwards: 43 5. Nikola Jokic: 36 6. Cade Cunningham: 35 — 7/29/2026 Bluesky
Court records viewed by The California Post on Tuesday show Ball was sued Monday — just weeks after he was traded from the Hornets to the Timberwolves— over accusations he owes a North Carolina landlord more than $100,000 in missed rent checks. — 7/28/2026 New York Post
On top of that, Fulton County justice Alice Benton handed down a final ruling earlier this month that slashed the $5,000-a-month payout Edwards had been forking over to just $3,220– the maximum required in Georgia – and said Howard had done nothing to prove that more was needed. — 7/28/2026 Daily Mail
NBA star Anthony Edwards has tied up another loose end with a resounding court victory over baby mama Ayesha Howard who has been dubbed a 'vexatious litigant' by a California court. The Minnesota Timberwolves player, 24, has been locked in a year-long fight over child support with Howard, despite having already paid her over $110,000 towards the upkeep of their toddler daughter Aubri. — 7/28/2026 Daily Mail
Kon Knueppel on LaMelo Ball's personality: Kon Knueppel: "Yeah, he's loud, um, but he, he comes in every day and he says hello to everybody. Um, and I mean like trainer, strength coach, assistant coach, whoever's cooking the food in the, in the meal room. Um, so it's just cool to have people like that around." — 7/26/2026 YouTube
Tracy McGrady: 'My duo, I'm going LaMelo Ball and Ant-Man. I'm going LaMelo because LaMelo is very entertaining, he's flashy, and then Ant-Man, what he brings to the table with the swag... I just think the two together, man, it's just going to be fun to watch, very exciting. They going to be going at dudes next on that basketball court and talking sh*t, doing it, taking names. I just think the excitement that we going to see from both of them is going to be something special to watch this year.' — 7/26/2026 YouTube
Q. You played well with LaMelo Ball. You guys were kind of like branded as the you know the future of the Hornets. Was that a shock to you? Kon Knueppel: Yeah, definitely a shock. Melo’s a great dude. (…) He was great to be around every day. So that's already missed, you know, just the joy and energy that he brought to the locker room. — 7/24/2026 YouTube
The Minnesota Timberwolves threw everything they possibly could at LeBron James to try to persuade him to chase a championship with them. Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball got on the phone with him. Alex Rodriguez led ownership’s pitch given their common ground as superstar athletes who have become business moguls. Tim Connelly’s longstanding working relationship with Rich Paul helped the two have extended conversations on the fit for James in Minnesota. Throughout the process, team sources said, the Timberwolves felt like James and his camp were giving them full consideration for his 24th season. Those sources spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to speak candidly about private negotiations. They always knew it was a long shot, but the prospect of putting James in a starting lineup alongside Edwards, Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert was something they had to pursue all the way to the end. — 7/24/2026 New York Times
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball offered to pay for entire Timberwolves team's trip to Paris
