The Minnesota Timberwolves overhauled their roster this summer, bringing in LaMelo Ball to share the backcourt with Anthony Edwards. They are betting that a shift in vibe and a new guard pairing will carry them past the teams that have eliminated them in back-to-back playoffs.
The change was on display on the first day of training camp in late September, though most of the team had already been practising together for weeks. The final drill was the schoolyard classic Around the World, in which a player must hit three shots in a row while circling the 3-point arc. All of the Wolves’ guards competed against one another.
Ball leaned back at the top of the key and hoisted the ball toward the rim. He stayed stoic as the first two fell, then shot the third as if its swish were a fait accompli. It rimmed out, and he threw his hands on his head and yelled an expletive.
Edwards stood next to him, laughing. He drilled three in a row with ease and threw an exaggerated fist bump in the air as the third dropped. On his next turn, Ball was more focused and knocked down three straight. At the next station, he hit the first two, then watched the third carom off the rim and pulled his shirt nearly over his head in disbelief.
“A lot of joy,” Wolves veteran centre Rudy Gobert said as he observed the practice. “The vibes are great. I think we needed that.”
A younger, smaller roster built around Edwards
Minnesota reached the Western Conference finals in two of the past three years. It still reworked the roster, adding Ball to bolster the backcourt next to Edwards.
The moves made the Wolves smaller. They traded Julius Randle, their key return in the 2024 Karl-Anthony Towns trade, and fan favourite Naz Reid. They also got younger. Jonathan Kuminga, 24, signed in the offseason, and 26-year-old Ayo Dosunmu are expected to play key roles while fitting Edwards’ timeline.
The Wolves hope the gamble lets them compete with the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. Those two teams, the past two conference champions, used their size to knock Minnesota out in back-to-back playoffs.
“We weren’t the best version ourselves last year in the playoffs, but we also know how high the bar is in the Western Conference,” Wolves president Tim Connelly said at the team’s media day. “We’re very aware of what we have to overcome and how difficult that task will be. And we think we’re more prepared than ever.”
The Wolves recognized they needed to lessen Edwards’ ballhandling duties, and he welcomes the help.
“I feel like I’m a natural two guard at heart,” Edwards said. “I never thought I could develop any point guard skills. I know Finchy [coach Chris Finch] harps on me passing the ball, but now we got LaMelo, so I’m happy.”
Minnesota wanted Ball’s passing on the court, but also his energy and joy. Finch acknowledged the team often lacked both in recent years.
“We’ve traded moodiness for giddiness,” Finch said before a preseason game at Madison Square Garden this month.
That is why the end-of-practice shootouts matter. The Wolves hope they are a microcosm for the season.
Team sources said the organization believes its two stars can give each other something the other lacks. Ball gains a more serious edge to go with his showmanship. Edwards gets a teammate with an infectious joy, and the team hopes their bond keeps its superstar happy.
“When Melo walks in here, he comes into work smiling every day and just is engaged with everybody in the building,” Finch said. “Anthony’s a very joyous person, and that kind of energy, he feeds off of.”
“But Ant has a real seriousness to him. He has a killer mentality. They’re both gym rats, so that’s cool. But there is a seriousness to Ant. You can flip that switch on him in a heartbeat and he responds. And I think that’s what LaMelo needs to see too.”
Building chemistry in Paris
Every offseason, Gobert invites his Wolves teammates to join him in Paris. The trip nearly happened in the summer of 2025, but scheduling conflicts derailed it. He extended the offer again weeks before Minnesota’s second-round exit in the 2026 playoffs.
“I’ll set it up,” Gobert told his teammates. “You guys just have to get your plane tickets and come.”
Then in July, the Wolves acquired Ball, and they almost instantly saw renewed engagement from Edwards. Edwards hosted Ball at his home in Minneapolis, and the two began working out together later that month. Edwards joked that they bonded over the need to limit their profanity in postgame interviews.
“We really got the same personality, for real,” Ball said.
Together, they led the push to go to Paris. The team chartered a plane from Minneapolis for players in town. Fourteen players made the trip. Only Bones Hyland, who missed for personal reasons, and Donte DiVincenzo, who had surgery a few months earlier to repair a torn Achilles, did not attend.
“Ant and Melo did a great job hyping the guys up in the group text,” Gobert said. “And then I handled the logistics. It was really, really meaningful.”
Immediately after the flight, the players headed to the gym for a workout. Gobert organized the session at Clichy Hall, about a block from the Seine River. He assured his teammates that the venue’s air conditioning is not common in France.
The Wolves later floated down the river on a boat tour through the city and past the Eiffel Tower. Several players point to it as the highlight of the trip.
“It was great. It makes you want to be honest with one another,” Gobert said. “It makes you want to accomplish things with one another, put the work in, do the uncomfortable things. I’m excited to see how it translates to what we’re going to do this year.”
“I truly believe that we care about one another and we want to see each other succeed on and off the court. We want to see each other win. And in this business, it’s not common to see that.”
It is the kind of camaraderie Edwards has wanted for several seasons. He looked at Oklahoma City and noted that its togetherness had the Thunder playing like “15 puppets on one string,” which he meant as a compliment. At media day, he said the Wolves in years past did not spend much time together after the season, but he believes winning and building a connection begin in the summer.
Now the Wolves have a teamwide fantasy football league. Edwards and Ball share their own handshake. Their group chat has been so lively that Gobert joked he has to mute it.
“I think a lot of people misjudge the NBA,” Edwards said at Fanatics Fest over the summer. “It’s just like AAU. The closer you and your team are, the more chance y’all got to win a championship.”
Easing the load on Edwards
The on-court fit showed in a preseason game against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 7. With the score tied and 41 seconds left in the first half, Ball inbounded to Gobert and sprinted toward him. The Pacers’ two best defenders, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, were pressing full court.
Nesmith stood in front of Edwards to deny the inbounds pass, so Ball fired it to Gobert, who gave it right back as Ball ran up the court with Nembhard trailing. As Ball approached the basket, he drew Pacers centre Ivica Zubac to stop his progress. That forced Nembhard to switch onto Gobert. Meanwhile, Edwards kept jogging toward the 3-point line and stood uncovered. Ball rifled a pass to him from underneath the basket.
It is exactly what the Wolves envisioned when they acquired Ball. They see the benefit for their big men. Centre Joan Beringer said he had never received so many lob passes as he did on the first day of practice. They also believe forward Jaden McDaniels can make an All-Star leap this season with Ball getting him more open looks.
Last season, Edwards brought the ball up the court more than any other Wolves player, according to Genius IQ. His 3.7 assists per game were his lowest since 2021-22. His isolation plays rose to 14.6 per 100 possessions, a career high and the seventh-highest total in the league, per Genius IQ.
“We needed to make the game easier for Anthony,” Finch said. “There might not be a guard in the league that creates more efficient offense for his teammates than LaMelo.”
Ball’s teammates in Charlotte last season had an effective field goal percentage of 67.9% after he passed to them for an assist opportunity. That ranked second among 199 qualified players. McDaniels actually ranked first, but with significantly less volume than Ball.
With Ball handling more of the on-ball duties, Edwards says he believes he can sharpen his defence.
“I feel like the last couple years I couldn’t play defense as well as I wanted to because I was bringing the ball up,” Edwards said. “At times I had to score all the time. I was super tired.”
Opening night and the road ahead
Minnesota opens its season Wednesday night in Miami at 7:30 p.m. ET, a matchup of two teams that made blockbuster trades this summer. It will be the Wolves’ chance to test the chemistry between Edwards and Ball, which has looked natural in the preseason. In the four exhibition games the duo played together, Ball led the team in assists in three of them, and Edwards led in scoring in all four.
The Wolves understand there will be growing pains, especially if Ball sits out time. He has averaged 50.5 games per season in his six-year career. His 72 games played last season were the most since 2021-22, his second year in the league.
Finch knows the team has not yet faced any real adversity. Still, the Wolves are banking on both the vibe shift and their backcourt duo to carry them through.
“LaMelo’s going to make mistakes. He’s just going to do it with a smile on his face,” Finch said. “He’s going to be one of those guys that’s hard to stay mad at. Anthony’s hard to stay mad at too.”