LaMelo Ball traded in NBA blockbuster: Why Timberwolves, Hornets made this move

LaMelo Ball drives around Andrew Wiggins

LaMelo Ball helped lead the Hornets to 44 wins and the Play-In Tournament last season. Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images

By Jon Krawczynski and Mike VorkunovJune 25, 2026 Updated 12:37 pm EDT

In a surprising move, the Charlotte Hornets have a deal in place to trade LaMelo Ball, the franchise’s star point guard.

The Hornets are set to deal Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 first-round pick, three second-round picks and a series of first-round pick swaps, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.

Ball, 24, averaged 20.1 points and 7.1 assists in 2025-26, his fewest points per game since his rookie season, when he won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. He made the All-Star team the next season. That helped him earn a rookie max extension, with three years and approximately $130.7 million remaining.

Reid, 26, a fan favorite in Minnesota, averaged 13.6 points and 6.2 rebounds this past season for the Timberwolves.

In addition to Reid and the unprotected 2033 first-rounder, the Hornets will receive the Wolves’ 2029, 2032 and 2033 second-round picks and first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030.

The Hornets subsequently agreed to re-sign free-agent guard Coby White to a three-year, $74 million contract.

ESPN first reported the deal.

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Why Timberwolves are thrilled to land Ball

In the hours after this trade was agreed upon, elation ran through the Wolves’ headquarters, team sources told The Athletic. They desperately needed a point guard, and they went and got the one they believe fits them better than any other.

The Timberwolves have been pursuing Ball for the last two years, periodically checking in on his availability in hopes of pairing him with Edwards in a souped-up young backcourt. Finally, the Hornets started to show a willingness to move, and the Wolves went in aggressively to get a deal done.

President of basketball operations Tim Connelly and coach Chris Finch have long believed Ball is the perfect complement to Edwards, a superb passer and dynamic shooter who will open the floor for one of the league’s best catch-and-shoot shooters.

They also believe that Ball will be much more helpful for Rudy Gobert on offense than any teammate he has had in Minnesota. The Wolves were woefully short of lob throwers, which is where Gobert does so much of his damage. Ball is one of the best in the league.

There are risks involved. Can Ball stay healthy? Is he mature enough to play deep into the playoffs? The Wolves believe that putting him in a winning environment and allowing him to play wide open will benefit him and the rest of the team.

It also signals that the Wolves will pay the luxury tax in 2026-27. Before Ball’s arrival, the Wolves were looking to be a team that was under the tax. However, this opportunity was too good for them to pass up. — Jon Krawczynski, Timberwolves senior writer

What Our Experts Are Saying

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Why did Hornets move on?

This trade is a significant shake-up for a Hornets team that has been on the upswing.

Charlotte finished 44-38 in the regular season, no small feat for a franchise that has had just one winning season over the last decade. They surged in the second half of the season to make the Eastern Conference’s Play-In Tournament, beating the Miami Heat in an overtime thriller thanks to Ball’s last-second layup. Charlotte was eliminated by the Orlando Magic three days later.

The decision to trade Ball, especially now, comes as a surprise.

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The Hornets have been very careful to maintain the right course in building a long-term contender. Even in the midst of their historic second-half run, team president Jeff Peterson insisted that they wouldn’t be overvaluing their success.

“By no means are we like a finished product,” Peterson said. “I know the season feels great, and again, I can be more proud of the players and the coaching staff, medical performance department, but fortunately, I know the type of people who I was able to hire, and no one’s content. We want to continue to build and sustainability has always been the goal.

“So it’s one of those things where we have to continue to compete and try to win on the margins, whether it’s getting an additional second-round pick or a swap or whatever it may be, because at some point those things are going to come into play in terms of, do we package assets and go get someone or whatever that may be, but also want to be again, diligent. And can’t emphasize enough, like we’re not going to skip steps throughout the process.”

This trade proves that. The Hornets decided that taking a step back was worth the long-term gain. They’re now stacked with future first-round picks. They have three in next year’s draft, two and now a swap in 2029 and two in 2033.

Losing Ball will hurt. He was a key part of their come up and finally developed into a player who could help a winning team last season. But he’s also had injury issues throughout his career and staying healthy has been a concern. Last season, he played 70-plus games for just the second time in his six NBA seasons. The Hornets will miss his playmaking and his shooting, for sure. But White and rookie Christian Anderson Jr. should help replace some of it.

The team is also now centered around Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller, two big wings who can shoot. It’s like the offense will revolve around them and the Hornets plan for them to assume more playmaking duties. Reid should help their spacing and give them size and skill on the inside at a position with room for growth. — Mike Vorkunov, NBA staff writer

Losing Naz Reid will sting

The inclusion of Reid in this trade will hurt Wolves fans for a long time.

Reid was a cult hero in Minnesota, captivating fans with his slick handle, his 3-point shooting and the sweat equity he devoted to changing his body and improving his game.

When Reid arrived in Minnesota as an undrafted free agent out of LSU in 2019, few knew what to make of the pudgy but skilled big man. At the time, he looked to be too slow to be a wing and too small to be a center.

However, he lost more than 60 pounds and spent every summer in Minnesota working on his game and forcing his way onto the floor.

Eventually, a player who had no real position coming out of college could play three of them in the NBA. He spent time at power forward, center and small forward with the Wolves, adapting to different lineup combinations and dutifully waiting his turn behind Karl-Anthony Towns, Gobert and Julius Randle.

Reid won the 2024 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award and would eventually sign two lucrative contracts to stay in Minnesota — a three-year, $42 million deal in 2023 and a five-year, $125 million deal last summer.

Fans quickly fell for him, getting his name tattooed on their bodies during the Wolves’ conference finals run in 2024 and turning the Reid beach towel giveaway into a flag that was flown all over the world. It became a symbol of the organization’s rise from the ashes.

@Timberwolves

Next time you pull the Freddy mercury into Kernkraft 400 and the crowd leans into it, just keep it playing instead of cutting to the same old defense chant.

The Naz Reid towel game is the best non playoff atmosphere I’ve even experienced. https://t.co/hZGyQqQtss

— Tim Garrison (@TimGarrisonMN) May 20, 2025

Edwards was the only player who rivaled Reid’s popularity in the market, and fans will no doubt be crestfallen after it appeared that he would finally join the starting lineup when Randle was traded to Brooklyn.

But to get a player of Ball’s caliber, the Wolves had to part with real talent to do it. That is what Reid represents. Reid’s versatility and dynamic play gave the Wolves the final piece they needed to pry Ball away from the Hornets. — Krawczynski