High risk and high reward.
That’s the only way to look at the Timberwolves acquisition of All-Star guard LaMelo Ball in a trade that sends fan favorite and forward Naz Reid to the Hornets.
Wolves’ front office leader Tim Connelly has been searching for a quality point guard to lead his team and take the playmaking burden off superstar Anthony Edwards. Ball is a spectacular playmaker that can have teammates and fans marveling at his showmanship performances.
The concern is availability. Since being drafted by the Hornets in 2020 (he went No. 3 overall and Edwards No. 1), he has missed a lot of games. Last season he played a near career high of 72 out of 82 games but previous seasons the totals were: 47, 22, 36 , 75 and 51.
Ankle injuries have been troublesome. That’s a worrisome history for a 24-year-old, with logic suggesting lower body injuries can become more frequent and last longer as an athlete ages.
Connelly is banking on Ball continuing the trend of the 2025-2026 season. Playing most of the season, he averaged 20.2 points per game and 7.1 assists. The 6-7 veteran also averaged nearly 5 rebounds per game.
The acquisition of Ball gives the Wolves an athletic and young starting core, other than 7-1 center Rudy Gobert who turns 34 tomorrow. Guard Ayo Dosunmu and forward Jaden McDaniels, ages 24 and 25 respectively, would be part of the starting five if Minnesota were to play a game today. Edwards, one of the league’s top players, is also 24.
As the roster is constructed now, Connelly is taking the risk that by trading two power forwards this month in Reid and Julius Randle, the Wolves will still have enough size to rebound and defend effectively. Right now McDaniels, listed at 6-9 and 185 pounds, looks like the new power forward while the 6-4 Edwards may slide into the small forward position.
A basketball insider told Sports Headliners he didn’t think the transition would be a problem for Edwards and that he can benefit from the presence of an elite point guard. “No question he’s the guy that stirs the drink for them,” he said speaking anonymously.
The source faulted the Wolves for not playing hard enough and lacking togetherness in the playoffs last spring as they won an opening series but then lost to the Spurs in the next round. “They had to make some (personnel) moves,” he said.
With Connelly in power there could be other transactions coming. He showed from his first months on the job in 2022 a willingness to make bold moves when he made the blockbuster trade bringing Gobert to Minneapolis while sending a boatload of players and draft choices to the Jazz.
Worth Noting
Ari Peterson, the basketball player who is transferring from Minnetonka High School to a national prep power in New York, has the admiration of former Skippers coach Brian Cosgriff who raves about her athleticism. Peterson, the daughter of Vikings legend Adrian Peterson, will be a junior next school year at Long Island Lutheran in Brookville.
The school plays a national schedule and produces McDonald’s All-Americans. Peterson may flourish in her new home, but she will face challenges. “I am a little nervous for her because I hope she goes on to do great things,” said Cosgriff who coached Peterson as a ninth grader. “It’s risky to some degree, in my opinion. …”
Maddyn Greenway, daughter of former Viking linebacker Chad Greenway, recently was named the 2025-2026 MaxPreps Female National Athlete of the Year. At Providence Academy she won 13 state titles in three sports including basketball and this fall will be at Kentucky on a basketball scholarship.
Cosgriff, retired from coaching after winning eight girls basketball state championships at Hopkins and Minnetonka, knew Greenway as a seventh grader at Providence Academy where he was a teacher. He said she could have been a “great receiver” in football. “I had her in gym class and when we played football, she was the best player out there, boys or girls.”
Congratulations to Mr. Baseball and Ms. Softball Award winners Connor Finn, the left-handed pitcher from Mahtomedi High School (committed to Texas Tech University) and Avery Muellner, the right-handed pitcher and first baseman from Forest Lake High School (committed to the University of St. Thomas). They were honored after the Minnesota Twins Community Fund and Minnesota All Sports Alliance had announced 16 finalists for the awards earlier in the month.
Fox 9 sports reporter and anchor Dawn Mitchell will have a feature on Minnesota sports icon Dick Jonckowski starting at 10:30 p.m. on July 3.