LaMelo Ball's First 17 Minutes in Minnesota Raised the Ceiling — and the Risk

Four months after the trade that reshaped their entire identity, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally put LaMelo Ball on a basketball court in a Wolves uniform. The result was a 116-97 preseason win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 5-6, and a debut that was smaller than the hype but bigger than the box score.

Ball finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 17 minutes. Modest numbers. But the point of the night wasn't the stat line — it was the first live look at what a Ball–Anthony Edwards backcourt actually looks like after Minnesota spent the offseason betting its future on exactly that.

What the Wolves Gave Up to Get Here

To land Ball, Minnesota sent Naz Reid to Charlotte and Julius Randle to Brooklyn. The team also watched Mike Conley leave for Boston, welcomed new ownership in Marc and Elisa Stad, and signed Jonathan Kuminga in free agency — a move that required the franchise to manage its position relative to the second apron with real precision. This was not a tweak. It was a teardown of the supersized, bruising identity that defined the Rudy Gobert era and a rebuild around pace, playmaking and shooting.

That context matters when you watch Ball run the offense. Last season he averaged 20.1 points and 7.1 assists per game across 72 games, and he's the ideal counterweight to Edwards — a guard who pushes tempo and creates for others, which lets Edwards operate more off-ball and hunt mismatches rather than carrying the entire creation load. Edwards averaged 28.8 points on 48.9% shooting and 39.9% from three a season ago. Putting a 7-assist floor general next to him is the entire thesis of the trade.

The Fit Looks Real — On Both Ends of the Floor

The supporting cast is not thin. Gobert remains a 10.9-point, 11.5-rebound, 1.6-block anchor in the middle. Jaden McDaniels is coming off a 14.8-point season while shooting 51.5% from the field and 41.2% from three — an efficiency profile that pairs beautifully with a pass-first guard. Kuminga adds a 12.2-point, 5.6-rebound athletic wing who chose a short-term deal in Minnesota over more lucrative offers elsewhere.

Minnesota played at the ninth-fastest pace in the league last season (100.4), and that number should climb. The Wolves went 49-33 in 2025 with a +3.4 point differential, scoring 118.0 per game. The roster is now built to lean harder into that.

The Caution Flag Is Still Waving

Two things temper the excitement. First, the injury ledger: the preseason already included availability concerns with Ayo Dosunmu and Bones Hyland, and a thin backcourt behind Ball is a genuine structural risk given how much of the offense now flows through him. Second, and more importantly, the market isn't buying a jump. Minnesota sits at 2,500 championship odds — tied with Denver and Cleveland, well behind conference favorites Oklahoma City and San Antonio — with a win total set at 48.5. That's essentially the same 49-win regular season the Wolves just had, just with a completely different roster.

That gap between the on-paper ceiling and the priced-in expectation is the whole story of this season. Blending a new point guard, a new wing and a new ownership group doesn't happen on a preseason schedule. Minnesota's next tests come quickly — a road trip through Indiana, Miami and New York before a home date with Detroit.

The Wolves traded two franchise cornerstones for one guard and a new direction. The first 17 minutes looked like a preview, not a verdict.