Quote · The Bill Simmons Podcast
A Crazy NBA Month With Zach Lowe, Plus Taylor Sheridan on Building a TV Empire and the Problems With Hollywood
Where this was said
LaMelo Ball traded to the Wolves
At 47:13 · chapter starts 34:29
The LaMelo Ball trade to Minnesota triggers one of Simmons' most emphatic takes of the episode. He'd never have done it — LaMelo has played just 9,400 minutes across 6 seasons with zero playoff appearances, putting him in historically rare company alongside Ja Morant and Zion Williamson as high-usage scorers who simply don't play [1] — Bill Simmons "This is a jersey-selling, Twitch-moment trade for fans under 25. LaMelo has played just 9,400 minutes in 6 seasons with zero playoff appear…" 35:00 . Charlotte was clearly managing his minutes all year (27.5 per game from mid-November onward), almost as though they knew a trade was coming. For Minnesota, Simmons sees a franchise chasing its own tail — from the Gobert trade that made the KAT deal inevitable, to the Randle dump, to this Hail Mary for a guard who may never hold up for a 37-minute playoff game. Lowe is more generous, grading it a B for both teams and arguing that in isolation — without factoring in the Randle trade and the asset depletion context — it's not an outrageous price for a player of LaMelo's ceiling. Both agree, however, that the real test isn't the regular season: it's April and May, when LaMelo will need to be a different player against the physicality of OKC and San Antonio.
This is a jersey-selling, Twitch-moment trade for fans under 25. LaMelo has played just 9,400 minutes in 6 seasons with zero playoff appearances. Minnesota just bet Anthony Edwards' prime on a guy who might never play a full season.
Charlotte carefully limited LaMelo to just 27.5 minutes per game from mid-November onward, almost as if they already knew they'd trade him.
In 6 seasons, LaMelo Ball has played just 9,400 minutes and zero playoff games, making him one of the least durable good guards of the last 25 years.
Following the LaMelo trade, Minnesota doesn't control their own first-round pick for 7 years, a staggering asset cost.
Minnesota signed Ioannidis (Io) to a 5-year, $112 million deal, surprising given he was traded for a second-round pick just months earlier.
Every Minnesota problem traces back to the Gobert trade. It robbed them of assets, made the Towns deal inevitable, and led to a chain of moves chasing their own tail. Two conference finals later, it's still not clear they didn't overpay.
