Newly acquired Minnesota Timberwolves point guard LaMelo Ball was praised by his new head coach, Chris Finch, ahead of the upcoming season.
The Timberwolves sent big man Naz Reid and a package of draft picks to the Charlotte Hornets for Ball, who is getting a fresh start in Minnesota, a perennial playoff contender, after many years without playing in the postseason in Charlotte.
Although the season has not started yet, Finch has loved what he’s seen from Ball during practice and in preseason games, and he’s excited about what the team will look like this coming season with Ball and NBA superstar Anthony Edwards playing alongside each other in Minnesota.
Chris Finch Has High Praise for LaMelo Ball
Speaking to reporters during the preseason, Finch had nothing but high praise for Ball, suggesting that his giddy personality will be a great fit in Minnesota’s locker room and on the court.
“He’s always in a great mood. Always comes in smiling. He and Anthony have a shared quality: they’re really hard to stay mad at. And they do some things that you want to get mad at. They have a reflective joy…We referred to ourselves as a moody team in the last couple of years, at times, and it’s probably gotten in our way. We’ve traded moodiness for giddiness. So, we’ve gotta get to some sort of happy medium,” Finch said.
New-Look Timberwolves
The Timberwolves made several lineup changes during the offseason to change up their makeup for this coming season.
The big move was, of course, trading away Reid and getting Ball in return. But the team also signed free-agent forward Jonathan Kuminga, whom they believe has untapped potential that the Timberwolves believe he can reach in Minnesota.
Combine those newcomers with Edwards plus other holdovers in Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels, and the Timberwolves will likely be among the top contenders in the NBA’s Western Conference once again.
There are a lot of great teams on paper in the league this year, but Minnesota hopes that when springtime comes around next year, they’ll be among the final teams remaining.
LaMelo Ball Praised by Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch