We got a new duo in Minnesota, ladies and gentlemen.
Anthony Edwards is getting some help and it will come in the form of his fellow 2020 draft classman, LaMelo Ball. Fans were treated to an early morning trade bomb on Thursday, as ESPN's Shams Charania broke the blockbuster news.
In the deal, Charlotte would be trading it's long-time franchise point guard (along with swingman Josh Green) to the Timberwolves in exchange for big man Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps and three second-round picks.
Just like that, it marks the end of the LaMelo Ball era in Buzz City. Though, you could argue that in recent years, the Hornets have been quietly building for a LaMelo-less vision with promising youngsters like Brandon Miller and especially the sudden Kon Knueppel rise.
But in all honesty, I am quite surprised the Hornets completely abandoned ship on having Ball in the fold, considering their emergence in the 2025-26 campaign. Even though we have heard rumblings of Ball being shopped way before, I thought Charlotte would give it at least one more full year (maybe even half of a year) to see how far this core could go.
Circling back to where Toronto fits into this equation, the Raptors have long been tabbed as a potential LaMelo Ball suitor, and things were quickly heating up in the last few days (per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line) as those talks were rumored to be revisited once again.
Minnesota gets the jump on Toronto in LaMelo Ball trade sweepstakes
There were reasons to be enamored with a potential Ball-Raptors fit and perhaps just as many reasons to be a bit concerned about a LaMelo arrival in Toronto. But wouldn't you know it, and it's Minnesota who acts as the Raptors' leading obstacle in an alluring guard trade, just as they did when they were the ones to snag Ayo Dosunmu at this past trade deadline.
If you can still recall, Dosunmu was being looked at as a top candidate pre-trade deadline by both myself and fellow Raptors Rapture contributor, Daniel O'Connor. Instead, it was Minnesota who lapped the Raptors to secure Dosunmu, getting him for a fairly reasonable trade cost and ultimately bringing him back on board just a few days ago on a years-long extension.
Fast forward to this relatively short, but still anyone's game pursuit to add LaMelo Ball, and it's the Wolves who come out of the race on top. Minnesota, like Toronto, is a team in desperate need of a few more star talents to help push them over the edge, and especially at the guard spot, where they got hit with a devastating injury to Donte DiVincenzo. Now, Ball can slot in as a flashy running mate alongside Ant Edwards in the backcourt, and we'll just have to see how that pairing works out.
Although, at the price they paid for LaMelo, perhaps it was the Raptors' blessing in disguise to have not given up this many assets to acquire the former No. 3 overall pick. Nevertheless, with new trade buzz surrounding possible Kawhi Leonard reunion talks and the glaring concern for Toronto to finally cash in and make 'win-now' moves as their contemporaries (both East and West) are getting bold — something tells me this isn't the end of the Raptors' potential summer sizzler plans.
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