Lonzo Ball Defends LaMelo Trade to Anthony Edwards, T-Wolves amid Concerns After Hornets Deal

Veteran NBA guard Lonzo Ball expressed his belief this week that his younger brother, LaMelo Ball, has found the ideal landing spot with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Addressing the recent trade of LaMelo from the Charlotte Hornets to the T-Wolves on his Ball in the Family Podcast (beginning at the 12:40 mark) on Wednesday, Lonzo said, "I'm excited for Melo, being his big brother. People are questioning the fit, I think this is a great fit for him. [The media] don't know ball, man. ... Dude, he's that. You have the two best players under 25 on the same team."

Lonzo went on to say that the reigning Western Conference finalists in the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are the only teams he places ahead of Minnesota in the Western Conference pecking order, while his other brother, LiAngelo Ball, put only OKC ahead of the Timberwolves.

Last week, the T-Wolves acquired Ball and Josh Green from the Hornets in exchange for Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps and three second-round picks.

It was a controversial move among pundits both due to the fact that the Hornets gave up an elite talent in Ball, and due to concerns about whether a team can go the distance with Ball as a key player.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Ball spent his first six seasons in Charlotte, averaging 20.8 points, 7.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 three-pointers made and 1.2 steals per game.

He was named Rookie of the Year in 2021 and an All-Star the following season, but the Hornets did not achieve much team success during his tenure, as they failed to make the playoffs even once, and only twice had a winning record.

Ball's usage dipped last season following the arrival of Kon Knueppel, as he averaged a career-low 28.0 minutes per game, but he still managed to deliver 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per contest, and he played in a career-high 72 games after dealing with various injuries in prior years.

In Minnesota, the 24-year-old Ball will join forces with the 24-year-old Anthony Edwards, who is already among the NBA's biggest stars.

Edwards has been named an All-Star in each of the past four seasons. He was also an All-NBA Second Team selection in both 2024 and 2025, and he led the T-Wolves to the Western Conference Finals each of those seasons as well.

It is fair to wonder how two ball-dominant guards in Ball and Edwards will mesh together in Minnesota, but with the Timberwolves looking to get over the hump and into the NBA Finals, it is understandable why the front office took a big swing.