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2026-27 · Preseason · Preseason
Interactive: Edwards and Ball, built for October — the Wolves’ new backcourt step by step
Scroll through Minnesota's LaMelo Ball trade: Edwards' 28.8 points, Ball's 272 threes, the Naz Reid price and opening night at Miami on Oct. 21.
In this article
Anthony Edwards with Team USA against Egypt on July 7, 2026. Photo: Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized.WhyNBA Interactive
Edwards and Ball, built for October
Minnesota paired Anthony Edwards with LaMelo Ball in a four-team blockbuster. Five nights before tip-off against Miami, here is the deal, the numbers and what the new backcourt is walking into.
Target Center in Minneapolis, home of the Timberwolves. Photo: Runner1928 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized.Chapter 1
Two No. 1s of the same draft
Anthony Edwards went first overall in 2020. LaMelo Ball went third. For six seasons they lived on opposite coasts. On June 25 they became teammates.
Minnesota sent Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round swaps and three second-rounders to Charlotte, and got Ball and Josh Green back. The deal also moved Julius Randle to Brooklyn and Nic Claxton to Chicago.
- Edwards No. 1, Ball No. 3
- Four-team trade sends Ball to Minnesota
- Wolves open at Miami — Giannis, Bam and the Heat
0overall pick, Edwards (2020)
0overall pick, Ball (2020)
0teams in the Ball trade
Chapter 2
What Edwards already does
Last season Edwards averaged a career-high 28.8 points in 61 games, with 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals. He shot 48.9 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from three.
He has never had a true co-pilot. Ricky Rubio was there for his rookie year. Mike Conley arrived later, already deep into his 30s. Ball, at 25, is the best creator Edwards has shared a backcourt with.
Edwards, 2025-26 per game
0points per game last season
0%from three
0games played
LaMelo Ball in a Charlotte Hornets jersey. File photo: Erik Drost / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0. Resized.Chapter 3
What Ball brings
Ball finally stayed healthy. He played 72 games for Charlotte, averaging 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists. He made 272 threes, second in the league, at 36.8 percent.
Charlotte jumped from 19 wins to 44 and reached the Play-In. Ball still has three years left on a five-year, $203.9 million designated rookie contract.
Ball, 2025-26 per game
0threes made, second in the NBA
0assists per game
0games after three injury-shortened seasons
“The Timberwolves send a haul to the Hornets for a star-studded new backcourt in Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball — the Nos. 1 and 3 picks in 2020.”— Shams Charania, reporting the trade
Chapter 4
The price: Naz Reid and the picks
Reid was Minnesota’s Sixth Man of the Year winner and finished third in that voting again last season. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in 2025-26 as the Wolves reached the Western Conference semifinals.
Charlotte also received Mo Gueye, draft rights to Matteo Spagnolo, the unprotected 2033 first and swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030. Tim Connelly bet the future on a backcourt that can create in the half court and in transition.
0Naz Reid points per game last season
0unprotected first headed to Charlotte
0first-round pick swaps included
Minnesota kept Rudy Gobert and Ayo Dosunmu, who agreed to a four-year extension. Conley remains as a veteran fourth guard. The frontcourt is thinner without Reid’s minutes off the bench.
Anthony Edwards with Team USA against Egypt on July 7, 2026. Photo: Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized.Chapter 5
Opening night in Miami
The Wolves open the 2026-27 season at Miami on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Heat added Giannis Antetokounmpo in the offseason. Bam Adebayo is still there. It is the loudest possible first test for Edwards and Ball.
- At Miami, tip at 7:30 p.m. ET
- At Orlando
- Home opener vs. Toronto at Target Center
Combined 2025-26 scoring (ppg)
Forty-eight point nine points per game between them last season. Neither has ever started a regular-season game next to the other. Tuesday night, they do.
Minnesota spent years building around Edwards. This summer it spent the cupboard to give him a co-star. Whether Ball’s health holds and whether Gobert’s frontcourt can survive Reid’s departure will decide if the bet looks brilliant by April. For now, the only date that matters is Oct. 21 in Miami.
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