Jon K interview with Author/Writer Mirin Fader on LaMelo

[TheGrey08]

I'm only 10 min in so far, but she spent a lot of time with LaMelo including his time overseas. She has some good insight into him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSBwFAJ2Lsk

[Lipoli390]

Thanks for posting! Fantastic interview. One of most informative and revealing interviews I’ve ever watched. Every Wolves fan should watch this interview.

[TheGrey08]

Yeah it was really insightful and it makes me not at all worried about personality fit with him and the team, especially Ant. The fact he deferred to guys overseas and was a setup type is evidence he has the ability to be exactly what this team needs.

[Lipoli390]

Yeah it was really insightful and it makes me not at all worried about personality fit with him and the team, especially Ant. The fact he deferred to guys overseas and was a setup type is evidence he has the ability to be exactly what this team needs.

Yes. This writer he interviewed truly deserves the title journalist, which very few writers and reporters merit these days. She’s obviously very smart and had a wealth of information supporting her observations and conclusions. She got to know him really well from the time he was in Europe just out of high school, through his time in Australia, before he became an NBA star and also during his time in Charlotte. Here were the key take-aways for me:

1. His adaptability. She used this work a lot to describe him. She said he’s very adaptable to different situations and people even in very challenging situations like he encountered in Europe. She referred to his adaptability as something that will make it easy for him to adjust to the Wolves and playing alongside a superstar like Ant.

2. His love of basketball and work ethic. She said the musings about him not loving the game that have dogged him before he was even drafted are ridiculous. She said he not only loves to play the game but he loves to watch it. He loves watching film and watching other NBA games. She said in Europe when he played with little fan far and no bright lights, he played hard and with joy. He would get to the gym for practice early. She recounted the one time she wanted to meet him at the beach in Australia to interview him during his early morning run. But when she tried she learned that he did his run at 4 a.m.

3. Loved by teammates and coaches. She was emphatic that his teammates and coaches have loved him (she used the word loved) every place he’s been from Europe to Australia to Charlotte. She said coaches love him because he listens and only has to be told something once.

4. Smart and self-aware. Another thing that she relayed in the interview was that LaMelo is very smart and self-aware. She loved that when she interviewed him, he listened closely and engaged back and forth rather than just giving canned answers.

5. Very nice. She said he’s a really nice person. Treated her really well. Treats his teammates really well with respect.

Again, everyone should watch it to get the full flavor.

[Monster]

I listened to this while traveling today. Thanks for posting it was really good stuff.

I had gotten the idea that LaMelo was likely misunderstood and this video seemed to confirm that pretty resoundingly. One of my takeaways is LaMelo will be happy to have Edwards be the spotlight guy. I think he will also have a lot of fun here. I also think Finch will be good for him. Finch give a lot of freedom to PG lead guard but I also has high expectations for them and will reign them in at times which probably will be good for Ball.

[TheGrey08]

Nice summary, Lip and agree Monster, he very much as a misunderstood story. It seems like he was judged and projected to be a certain way before he even got started. Certainly didn't help that his dad was A LOT to put it mildly lol.

Another thing she talked about was basically how he's been a bit of a chucker on mostly bad teams, but now that he's joining a team that's been on the doorstep of the NBA Finals with a top superstar in Ant (my words there), she thinks he'll be a bit more serious and do less of the chucking for the fun of it.

I'm really looking forward to see how he adjusts to the most talented team he's ever been on and the effects he has on teammates on the floor.

[FNG]

Thanks for posting, Grey, and excellent summary, Lip! The terrific interview made me like LaMelo much more, and Lavar less (if that's possible). I've always been impressed with LaMelo's talent but wary of his personality...it turns out my fears were misplaced. I was already excited about trading for such a passing savant, but learning that he is such a terrific teammate makes me even more excited. Let's get this party started!

[Q-is-here]

The issue I've always had with LaMelo is on the court. He just didn't seem like someone serious about playing winning basketball with his ill-advised pull-up 28 footers and often speculative passing that would lead to a turnover.

He finally reigned it in a bit last season under Charles Lee and he became the main engine (although not the ONLY engine given he only averaged 28 MPG) in an elite offense while playing "good enough" defense. The turnovers went down, but I don't think he stamped out all of the ill-advised shots.

We're going to have to take the good with the bad when it comes to LaMelo, but if we win his minutes the way Charlotte did when he was on the floor last season (+10 Net Rating) I won't complain!

[TheGrey08]

The issue I've always had with LaMelo is on the court. He just didn't seem like someone serious about playing winning basketball with his ill-advised pull-up 28 footers and often speculative passing that would lead to a turnover.

He finally reigned it in a bit last season under Charles Lee and he became the main engine (although not the ONLY engine given he only averaged 28 MPG) in an elite offense while playing "good enough" defense. The turnovers went down, but I don't think he stamped out all of the ill-advised shots.

We're going to have to take the good with the bad when it comes to LaMelo, but if we win his minutes the way Charlotte did when he was on the floor last season (+10 Net Rating) I won't complain!

This hits on one of my takeaways from this. When a young crazy talented player is on a bad team, I get why they he would be less serious while knowing they're not going anywhere so why not lean into having fun. The fact he got more serious this past season when the team started to have success is a good sign and now he's joining a much more successful team so we should expect another level of seriousness.

[FNG]

The issue I've always had with LaMelo is on the court. He just didn't seem like someone serious about playing winning basketball with his ill-advised pull-up 28 footers and often speculative passing that would lead to a turnover.

He finally reigned it in a bit last season under Charles Lee and he became the main engine (although not the ONLY engine given he only averaged 28 MPG) in an elite offense while playing "good enough" defense. The turnovers went down, but I don't think he stamped out all of the ill-advised shots.

We're going to have to take the good with the bad when it comes to LaMelo, but if we win his minutes the way Charlotte did when he was on the floor last season (+10 Net Rating) I won't complain!

This hits on one of my takeaways from this. When a young crazy talented player is on a bad team, I get why they he would be less serious while knowing they're not going anywhere so why not lean into having fun. The fact he got more serious this past season when the team started to have success is a good sign and now he's joining a much more successful team so we should expect another level of seriousness.

Yes, exactly Grey. I watched a lot of Hornets games in March/April (really the only team I watched other than the Wolves), and Ball looked nothing like the crazy player I saw in videos before the 2020 draft. He still had the flair he has always had, but he looked much more in control. Sure, he would occasionally put up a ridiculous 3-point attempt, but some of them actually went in! And you can't complain about his 37.4% 3-point rate post all star. Further, he reduced his TOs per game to 2.4 despite having the ball in his hands most of the time. The Hornets were terrible the first half of the year, but when they turned things around, he got much more serious. I have no doubts he will be just as serious playing for a contending Wolves team.