Trade Talk: Ball vs. Reid

I believe the Hornets got the best of this trade, because at least their strategy is theoretically discernible.  But as for the T-Wolves, I can’t imagine why they would trade Reid for Ball, besides future draft picks, unless the goal is to sell more tickets.

BYE, BYE BALL

I totally understand why Charlotte traded ‘Melo.  Under his leadership, which lasted over half a decade, they haven’t really accomplished shit in terms of actually winning.  That is up until last season when, after the All-Star Break, they unexpectedly became competitive, even one of the best teams in the East (during the regular season).  But logically speaking, that wasn’t as much due to Ball, whose been around for a minute, as it was the newer presence of Kon Knueppel.

Having both of them wasn’t the problem in and of itself.  The more outstanding players you have, the better - if they can all get along.  So the real problem was Ball exposing himself as the chuck he is during the postseason.  There's a lot of chucks in the NBA these days.  But in order to rationalize that kind of behavior, year after year, you have to be a really good one, like Luka or Spider.

I don’t feel like looking up stats right now.  But based on what I observed with my own naked eyes, during this postseason it wasn’t that opponents neutralized Knueppel as much as it was him not getting the ball in positions he could score (if at all).  And that’s hella odd considering that, even as a rookie, he’s the team’s most potent offensive threat.

I don’t think his teammates intentionally phased him out(?).  I think it was more like Ball and co. got caught up in the moment, you know, like their first postseason appearance ever and sorta forgot that Kon was even out there.

Kneuppel’s name sounds foreign, but for all intents and purposes, he’s an American whiteboy.  And with that in mind, note that there hasn’t been a dominant American whiteboy in the NBA since Larry Bird, who retired like 40 years ago.  Or another way of putting it is that, you have to actually play team basketball with an American whiteboy by your side, in the very least during the early stages of his career.

But instead, during the postseason the Hornets reverted back to that freestyle, let’s say Black brand of basketball that defined them before Kon’s arrival, and there were a couple of things wrong with that approach.  First and most disrespectfully was the fact that they likely wouldn’t have made the postseason without him.  It was like biting the hand that fed you, so to speak.

And second is that the streetball approach doesn’t result in rings anyway, unless you have the very best athletes on your roster.  Or let me say that the only time it did work (on a championship level) was when Lebron and Wade teamed up, both in their prime and arguably the two most athletic NBAers at the time.  And that’s the reason you see a lot of teams failing these days, including the likes of the Spurs(?).  You’re not likely to win a freestyle battle if the other team is stronger than you.  And meanwhile, NBAers don’t reach their max strength until they start nearing 30.

With that in mind, maybe it would have been better if they traded Ball for a pass-first PG.  But those types of players, especially on the younger side, don’t really exist anymore.  So the next best thing is to adopt more of a positionless style, which makes Reid a perfect fit, since he can do it all.  And I also think Miller will benefit more from organized basketball.  So I’m totally expecting the Hornets to be better next season, i.e. making the Playoffs instead of Play-Ins.

MILES BRIDGES - THE ODD MAN OUT

I found it interesting that the couple of articles I read about the trade seemed to not even mention Miles Bridges, like he doesn’t even exist anymore.  I’ve seen shoutouts to Knueppel and Miller and White and even Charlotte’s C whose name I can’t remember, but nothing of Bridges.  He may not be a borderline allstar anymore, but at the same time, he isn’t a slouch either (though he takes too many jumpshots imo).

I would speculate that domestic violence incident from a couple of years ago is still haunting his career.  In order to come out of some shit like that with your standing unaffected, you have to be an A+ lister, like Tyson for instance.

But that said, as it currently stands, the Hornets have more depth than they’re being recognized for.  The pundits are insinuating that Reid will supplant Bridges.  But what I’m envisioning is something like the two of them starting together.

ODD MAN OUT NUMBER 2: JULIUS RANDLE

It’s hard being a Julius Randle fan, and believe me, I’ve tried.  But after that series against the Spurs, again, who actually knows what’s going on with these players?

When one of your team’s stars suddenly becomes a nonfactor at the most-pivotal point of the season, you know, these guys are professionals, so that shit seems inexplicable or inexcusable.  So yeah, being banished to the Nets feels like a proper punishment for a borderline allstar lacking postseason potency.  But on the low, Randle + Porter Jr. should be one of the better F combinations in the East.

WHAT IS MINNESOTA TRYING TO ACHIEVE?

If you look at Minnesota’s history over the last 10+ years, this hasn’t been a team lacking talent.  They’ve had combinations such as KAT + Wiggins + LaVine, KAT + Wiggins + Butler and KAT + Edwards + Gobert, which are all more or less superteams on paper.

Looking at that sentence, it may seem like KAT was the problem, but keep in mind that he’s moved on to a championship, while the Wolves, this past season, have digressed.  In fact, I would say these last couple of years is the most-balanced roster they’ve had since the early-aughts, and maybe that injury to DiVincenzo was more significant than most of us realize(?).

In any event, if we were to single out an individual opponent who cost the Wolves their season, that of course would be Wemby.  So if he’s your biggest problem, why would you trade Naz Reid - the one player on your roster closest to Victor’s height/weight(?) - for a PG?

Granted, San Antonio’s Gs also outplayed those of Minnesota.  But even if Ball + Edwards + Dosunmu are able to outplay Castle + Fox + Harper, who’s going to guard Wemby?  Gobert may have had his moments but obviously is too old to hang with Victor for an entire series.  And that’s not an insult, because who can defend him one-on-one anyway?

So I would imagine, I mean I don’t know.  Minnesota is one of those organizations that you always hear about having an (overly-)expensive roster.  But I would imagine, since they got rid of both Reid and Randle, that they’re in the market for a 4, someone who could actually help against Victor.  And that would most logically be Mitchell Robinson, a free agent who, in the Wemby Era, I would imagine is the hottest commodity this offseason, even moreso than the likes of Lebron or whoever else is available.

All of that considered, I would speculate that this move on the part of Minnesota is more about selling tickets than winning a championship.  You know, if you can’t bring home the ring, at least be popular.  And now the T-wolves are definitely must watch - that is until Ball and/or Edwards inevitably gets hurt.

CONCLUSION

I wouldn’t call this past season a failure for Minnesota because, even at full strength, there’s no guarantee they would have beat the Spurs.  So I think with this trade(s), unless they have solid plan to acquire a quality 4, the braintrust sorta panicked.  And what may have compelled them to do so is fear of Edwards demanding out, you know, when you look at the way he behaved in Game 6 vs. the Spurs.

But as for Charlotte, their vision is clearer.  The decision came down to popularity vs. winning, and they chose the latter.  Or maybe, they’re able to perceive that as a team, nothing makes you more popular than actually winning.  The second half of last season must’ve felt really refreshing, finally winning for a change, and they want to build on that instead of once again fizzling out.  Sometimes, it isn’t losing as much as it is the way you lose.

2026 Play-In Elimination Ruminations: Warriors, Clippers, Heat, Hornets

WARRIORS (1-1)

Here's how influential Steph Curry is.  Now that he can no longer consistently win games on some miracle 3-pointer shit, the whole entire rest of the league is shifting back towards the inside game.  When he's on, everyone is encouraged.  And when he's off, they come back down to reality.

This is something I've been predicting for awhile.  The world moves in cycles, and it was only a matter of time before NBAers began realizing the value of attacking the paint again.  However, I thought it would be due to emergence of a dominant big, not the decline of Steph and the rise of SGA.

All Steph appears to need, even at this aged stage of his career, is an all-star level player on the side.  In their first game of the Play-Ins, when they knocked off the Clippers, that player was Porzingis.

Kristaps has also been a recurring subject on this blog over the years.  When he's on, he's undoubtedly on of the best players in the league - a European version of Wembanyama(?), if you will   The thing tho is his health is such that you can't even rely on him for two games in a row.  Remember that when the Celtics won their championship is 2024, he didn't even play in like half of the postseason games.

So if you revisit that loss to the Suns, when Curry was walking off the court afterwards crying, shaking the hands of all of his teammates, you'll notice that he sneered at Porzingis.  It isn't his fault, Steph.  If as a team you find yourself relying on Kristaps's consistently for whatevr reason, then you're doomed.  And Golden State's braintrust has long lost their marbles, even gambling on the health of a late-30s Jimmy Butler.

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (0-1)

I hope Kawhi isn't forced to leave or whatever TF is going on out there.  I would argue that the Clippers are a better team than the Warriors but unfortunately caught the latter on a hot night, when Porzingis surprisingly decided to show up.

Sometimes, I don't think Leonard even realizes how good he actually is.  He's an alpha who doesn't even need to be on a superteam.  That last championship he won, he was the undisputed alpha.

I understand that he's another player whose health you can't rely on.  But I think the Clippers should continue to build a team that can without him though without adding someone who would minimize his leadership.

So if the Clippers do retain his services, I'm hoping that Los Angeles doesn't go out looking for another perennial allstar unless maybe Giannis.  But if he does leave, it'll be interesting to see him go to the Nuggets, who look like they're about to embark on some type of rebuild.

MIAMI HEAT (0-1)

I'm just going to go ahead and say it - the Heat could've really used Terry Rozier who, despite not being an allstar, is an above-average scoring point.  I know the temptation must be great, but sometimes when dudes go out doing their thing, wearing x-ray glasses to poker games and shit like that, they need to think about their teams also, like how they'll be affected once you're caught.

You can't just go out and replace a player like Rozier without giving up something in return.  Maybe the NBA will introduce a "Felon's Exception", so that teams whose players are in trouble with the law can get a little bit of extra dough to replace them.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS (1-1)

Entering the postseason, the ROY was Knueppel's to lose, and lose it he did.  Dude just totally disappeared when his team needed him most.

I didn't really see enough of those games to understand why.  Maybe it was the jitters?  Maybe his teammates were so amped up that they ignored him?  Maybe a little bit of both?  I don't know.

Charlotte can be considered one of those teams that's built for perimeter play.  So now you have someone like Banchero - finally being incepted maybe - using his big, strong body attacking the rim instead of playing pansy jumpshot.  Even Franz Wagner was attacking the rim.  And the result?  The Hornets were not equipped to do anything about it.

In any event, taking for granted they'll make the postseason next year, this team needs to focus on keeping Kon involved, even in big games.  Maybe he'll mature enough on his own in the meantime to learn how to make his presence felt.

Finally, the Hornets were able to turn things around and look formidable, after like decades in obscurity, only to win one postseason game due to the opposing squad losing their best player and then getting blown out in the next.  Reason for optimism?  I don't know, but this looks like a team that can finally start focusing on its frontcourt instead of always adding guards.