Hoops Habit
Fansided

Detroit Pistons: Analyzing a LaMelo Ball-centric trade with the Timberwolves

By Duncan Smith

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks reacts during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks reacts during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Detroit Pistons, LaMelo Ball
Detroit Pistons, LaMelo Ball (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Does this trade work for the Minnesota Timberwolves?

The Timberwolves have plenty of redundancy on their roster and a player like LaMelo Ball really won’t co-exist with D’Angelo Russell. Considering how happy Karl-Anthony Towns is that Russell is on his team now, trading him to free up roster space and playing time for Ball seems like a complete non-starter.

Swartz states his case for the trade here:

"For the Wolves, getting Kennard would be like receiving an extra first-round pick, one who’s already proved himself as a talented outside shooter and developing passer in the NBA. Players like Obi Toppin, Devin Vassell and Onyeka Okongwu could all be available at No. 7, and they’d give Minnesota a better roster fit than Ball."

Luke Kennard can play either the two or the three and has some good secondary facilitating and ball-handling capabilities. He can also play beside both Russell and Towns and would give the Timberwolves a good young core going forward. Kennard will also retain plenty of trade value going forward, assuming he stays healthy.

Considering nothing in the top three of the draft is particularly appealing to them, moving back to seven could be the ideal range for them to pick from, and if they can add the 24-year-old Kennard as a bonus, so much the better.

Home/Detroit Pistons