Wolves acquire Lamelo Ball and Josh Green for Naz

[weimy froob]

One thing to consider as people debate Ball's playing style, BB IQ, decision making, etc. is he was 7th in the NBA last year in usage but 17th in turnovers per game at 2.8. Guys with more TO's than him (in order):

Doncic
Avdija
Jokic
Cunningham
Brown
Harden
Jalen Johnson
Westbrook
Castle
Durant
Sengun
Booker
Banchero
James
Edwards
Mitchell

His career TO's per game is only 3.2 so not too bad considering how much he has the ball in his hands.

I think it's more of his shot selection than his turnovers. Like you pointed out his Ast to Turnover ratio is pretty good I think. I'd be lying of I said I watched much of LaMelo Ball in Charlotte last year and how his game translates to our squad. The talent is there and hopefully Ant also opens up his game in the same respect because he's never played with a player of Ant's caliber and the gravity he causes on offense.

Yep… he dribbles the clock down and chucks shit shots. Froobs are gonna be bitching about Melo in here a lot. Unless, he stops that silliness, and pushes the ball up court and runs the offense efficiently. Maybe he will miraculously change after 6 years. Idk… when you hear former players and current players saying he doesn’t play winning basketball. I tend to listen.

he sure wasn't doing that when they blew the Wolves out last season at Target Center.

[briggs]

One thing to consider as people debate Ball's playing style, BB IQ, decision making, etc. is he was 7th in the NBA last year in usage but 17th in turnovers per game at 2.8. Guys with more TO's than him (in order):

Doncic
Avdija
Jokic
Cunningham
Brown
Harden
Jalen Johnson
Westbrook
Castle
Durant
Sengun
Booker
Banchero
James
Edwards
Mitchell

His career TO's per game is only 3.2 so not too bad considering how much he has the ball in his hands.

Can't look at it that way. Look at his TO per game at 36 per. Ball only played 28 minutes a game last season.

[SHAFA]

One thing to consider as people debate Ball's playing style, BB IQ, decision making, etc. is he was 7th in the NBA last year in usage but 17th in turnovers per game at 2.8. Guys with more TO's than him (in order):

Doncic
Avdija
Jokic
Cunningham
Brown
Harden
Jalen Johnson
Westbrook
Castle
Durant
Sengun
Booker
Banchero
James
Edwards
Mitchell

His career TO's per game is only 3.2 so not too bad considering how much he has the ball in his hands.

Can't look at it that way. Look at his TO per game at 36 per. Ball only played 28 minutes a game last season.

Bingo.

[SHAFA]

For what it's worth, the first 60 seconds of this video is a pretty good encapsulation of infuriating basketball. Clips 3, 5 and 6.


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[DonaldDouchebag]

[A$$MAN]

One thing to consider as people debate Ball's playing style, BB IQ, decision making, etc. is he was 7th in the NBA last year in usage but 17th in turnovers per game at 2.8. Guys with more TO's than him (in order):

Doncic
Avdija
Jokic
Cunningham
Brown
Harden
Jalen Johnson
Westbrook
Castle
Durant
Sengun
Booker
Banchero
James
Edwards
Mitchell

His career TO's per game is only 3.2 so not too bad considering how much he has the ball in his hands.

Can't look at it that way. Look at his TO per game at 36 per. Ball only played 28 minutes a game last season.

Sure, but his usage was still 7th in the league and for his career his turnovers/game is only 3.2. Also, of the 17 guys ahead of him in TO's last year, only 1 (Durant) played 36 minutes/game. So, to be fair, you would need to look at the per 36 for those 16 as well.

[Beef Supreme]

A bad shot is as good as a turnover.

Ball FG%


40.7%



To be fair, he’s a 3pt dominant shooter, which will drag a FG% down. But his eFG% is 51.6%, a very poor number for a star. That’s 110th in the NBA. Edwards was 36th at 57.2%. League average was 54.6%. Ball is down with Cade Cunningham and Andrew Nembhard.


And as I’ve said, his shot isn’t broken. He has good form and touch. A lot of that inefficiency is due to stupid shot selection. That doesn’t mean he can’t change. That doesn’t mean he won’t do better here. But there are real reasons why Charlotte is moving on and this is one of them. He will have to improve in this area for this team to maximize his acquisition.

[Beef Supreme]

This worked, but it’s a terrible decision.


Kinda what I’m talking about with him.


Think of all the times he made a decision like this and it didn’t work.

[somuchyummy]

I don't know if that's an entirely out of place in today's NBA. The only difference is that he dribbled out and shot it himself. Think of all the layups passed up on fast breaks where we see the ballhandler toss it back to a guy on the perimeter for a three. Pretty common, actually.

[Lightning]

I get sort of D-Lo vibes from this guy in terms of likeability. Wonder how he and Finch will mesh?

[A$$MAN]

A bad shot is as good as a turnover.

Ball FG%


40.7%



To be fair, he’s a 3pt dominant shooter, which will drag a FG% down. But his eFG% is 51.6%, a very poor number for a star. That’s 110th in the NBA. Edwards was 36th at 57.2%. League average was 54.6%. Ball is down with Cade Cunningham and Andrew Nembhard.


And as I’ve said, his shot isn’t broken. He has good form and touch. A lot of that inefficiency is due to stupid shot selection. That doesn’t mean he can’t change. That doesn’t mean he won’t do better here. But there are real reasons why Charlotte is moving on and this is one of them. He will have to improve in this area for this team to maximize his acquisition.

100%. Just looking at this from all angles. There are positives and negatives to his game with some really high on him while others are really low on him.

At the end of the day, he is able to control the tempo of a game while bringing elite passing, shot creation, rebounding and (inefficient) scoring to our PG position...mixed with maturity issues, questionable decision making, and injury concerns.

Lots to unpack, but the upside of this move is huge. We'll just have to wait and see.

[A$$MAN]

This worked, but it’s a terrible decision.


Kinda what I’m talking about with him.


Think of all the times he made a decision like this and it didn’t work.

Is it just me, or does it look like he kinda loses control of his dribble and that's why he pulls it out?

[Mplsfonz]

This worked, but it’s a terrible decision.


Kinda what I’m talking about with him.


Think of all the times he made a decision like this and it didn’t work.

Is it just me, or does it look like he kinda loses control of his dribble and that's why he pulls it out?

That's what she said.

[Beef Supreme]

A bad shot is as good as a turnover.

Ball FG%


40.7%



To be fair, he’s a 3pt dominant shooter, which will drag a FG% down. But his eFG% is 51.6%, a very poor number for a star. That’s 110th in the NBA. Edwards was 36th at 57.2%. League average was 54.6%. Ball is down with Cade Cunningham and Andrew Nembhard.


And as I’ve said, his shot isn’t broken. He has good form and touch. A lot of that inefficiency is due to stupid shot selection. That doesn’t mean he can’t change. That doesn’t mean he won’t do better here. But there are real reasons why Charlotte is moving on and this is one of them. He will have to improve in this area for this team to maximize his acquisition.

100%. Just looking at this from all angles. There are positives and negatives to his game with some really high on him while others are really low on him.

At the end of the day, he is able to control the tempo of a game while bringing elite passing, shot creation, rebounding and (inefficient) scoring to our PG position...mixed with maturity issues, questionable decision making, and injury concerns.

Lots to unpack, but the upside of this move is huge. We'll just have to wait and see.

Indeed. I can see why Connelly took the risk. The skillset is perfect for this team. Maybe he’ll just “grow up” with time and play smarter. Maybe not. But I get why they traded for him.

[Mplsfonz]

I get sort of D-Lo vibes from this guy in terms of likeability. Wonder how he and Finch will mesh?

I was thinking the same thing. Wonder if TC gets input from coach or just does it because he's the boss. Both jobs are on the line. (This was also my thought when he attached 25 years of draft picks for all these trades. What does he care? He will be fired by then if they don't work out.)

Also, Lavar said we win the chip if we find a way to get Lo's brothers on this team. I was not expecting that and almost blew OJ all over my couch.
I wonder how long it will take A Rod to ban him.

[Beef Supreme]

This worked, but it’s a terrible decision.


Kinda what I’m talking about with him.


Think of all the times he made a decision like this and it didn’t work.

Is it just me, or does it look like he kinda loses control of his dribble and that's why he pulls it out?

IDK… maybe. It looked like he was slowing down already, though and not just taking it strong to the rim.


But this instance itself is irrelevant. It is illustrative of the overall concern with him.

[weimy froob]

if he stays healthy I think the Wolves win this trade big time. Naz is good, but he's not that good. turnovers with his handle. dry spells where no shots are falling for quarters. defense can get sketchy. he was doing better with that and the rebounds, he can also heat up and have 15 points in a quarter runs, but you were going to be counting on a lot of improvement and consistency this season for him to have a big impact. no guarantee that was going to happen.

[DonaldDouchebag]

This worked, but it’s a terrible decision.


Kinda what I’m talking about with him.


Think of all the times he made a decision like this and it didn’t work.

Do you watch this and say to yourself, "Man, this dude's BBIQ is off the charts! He's the galaxy-brained Stephen Hawking of basketball!"?

I think it's okay to say he's not the brightest bulb.

[Beef Supreme]

This worked, but it’s a terrible decision.


Kinda what I’m talking about with him.


Think of all the times he made a decision like this and it didn’t work.

Do you watch this and say to yourself, "Man, this dude's BBIQ is off the charts! He's the galaxy-brained Stephen Hawking of basketball!"?

I think it's okay to say he's not the brightest bulb.

No. I do not think that.

[mlhouse]

This worked, but it’s a terrible decision.


Kinda what I’m talking about with him.


Think of all the times he made a decision like this and it didn’t work.

I don't know. On a team that is playing for high stakes that is a terrible decision. For a shitty team like the Hornets have been for most of Ball's career that is a terrible decision but something the fans are going to be excited about and remember. A layup is a layup. But a guy who passed up the layup and drained a 3 pointer, that is a story.

He will have to tighten up his game with MN because we are a better team with bigger stakes (maybe). But underneath that flash is a guy who plays hard.

[DonaldDouchebag]

This worked, but it’s a terrible decision.


Kinda what I’m talking about with him.


Think of all the times he made a decision like this and it didn’t work.

Do you watch this and say to yourself, "Man, this dude's BBIQ is off the charts! He's the galaxy-brained Stephen Hawking of basketball!"?

I think it's okay to say he's not the brightest bulb.

No. I do not think that.

'Course not.

[shoteh]

tbh, Ball was their best player so he could do whatever he wanted to without any kickbacks. Now he's #2, I don't think it will be the same.

I'm betting the swag that he and Ant brings to the game will win us more games than most people think. Its up to us to look past the immaturity though, which I think will be tough for many rubes here, myself included.

[weimy froob]

it's going to be a good watch this season. looking forward to seeing a lot of offense unlocked with the facilitating.

[weimy froob]

[bubu dubu.]

This guy's interviews sound a lot like Ant


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[weimy froob]

[weimy froob]

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lex
@maplewedgie
loved the perspective @MirinFader gave on Lamelo: “he’s most happy, most himself, most serious when he’s actually playing and playing hard”

“it’s just been unfair because he never had a chance to show his true colors because others were always speaking for him”

[witljon]

if he stays healthy I think the Wolves win this trade big time. Naz is good, but he's not that good. turnovers with his handle. dry spells where no shots are falling for quarters. defense can get sketchy. he was doing better with that and the rebounds, he can also heat up and have 15 points in a quarter runs, but you were going to be counting on a lot of improvement and consistency this season for him to have a big impact. no guarantee that was going to happen.

I agree. In my mind there’s no question we won the trade. And of course injuries can make a difference. If we look at the last few NBA champions, they’ve been healthy for the finals.

[Beef Supreme]

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lex
@maplewedgie
loved the perspective @MirinFader gave on Lamelo: “he’s most happy, most himself, most serious when he’s actually playing and playing hard”

“it’s just been unfair because he never had a chance to show his true colors because others were always speaking for him”

I do not buy that the narrative that the perception of Ball’s lack of seriousness and maturity are unfair.


I do buy that he’s young and most of the story of his career has yet to be written. So there’s plenty of time for him to change the narrative, if he wants to. But the existing narrative right now is earned.

[mlhouse]

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lex
@maplewedgie
loved the perspective @MirinFader gave on Lamelo: “he’s most happy, most himself, most serious when he’s actually playing and playing hard”

“it’s just been unfair because he never had a chance to show his true colors because others were always speaking for him”

I do not buy that the narrative that the perception of Ball’s lack of seriousness and maturity are unfair.


I do buy that he’s young and most of the story of his career has yet to be written. So there’s plenty of time for him to change the narrative, if he wants to. But the existing narrative right now is earned.

I think he gets a bad rap because of his father. Perhaps he plays too flashy at times but he seems like a Randy Moss type. What people do not understand is Moss was a very hard worker. The line "I play when I want to play" was taken completely out of context.