Minnesota Sports Forum

Phenom wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2026 6:37 pm Sounds like Steve Clifford contacted Chris Finch to rave about LaMelo. Clifford is known as a no-nonsense, straightforward guy.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 9:49 pm Some of the less learned can be brilliant on the basketball court. I'm going to guess that his IQ is higher than his worldly knowledge. A capable brain that isn't fed doesn't diminish the capability.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 10:23 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 9:49 pm Some of the less learned can be brilliant on the basketball court. I'm going to guess that his IQ is higher than his worldly knowledge. A capable brain that isn't fed doesn't diminish the capability.

Well said, Cool.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 21, 2026 11:26 am I was looking at what some current and former NBA stars have said about LaMello. The vast majority who’ve said anything about him have praised him. Michael Jordan drafted him and publicly praised him after his first season, which is something MJ has rarely done. Kevin Durant, who has played against him, has praised him a number of times. Perhaps the most interesting praise came from Magic Johnson. Following LaMelo's first All-Star appearance, Magic explicitly compared the young guard to himself on SiriusXM NBA Radio. According to a report by theScore, Magic raved: "He is a great creator of shots for his teammates. He puts on a show at the same time. He's exciting to watch... and he's a gym rat like I was. So every year, he's going to improve.

My biggest take-away from Magic’s critique was his comment: “he’s a gym rat like I was.” That comment aligns with what we’ve heard from others, including the reporter that Jon K interviewed. LaMello loves basketball and works on his game. He obviously doesn’t like the media star thing as we saw up close in his introductory press conference here. Magic’s projection that Ball was “going to improve” every year has been undercut by LaMello’s injuries, but he did actually improve overall last season when he was healthy again and on the court for 70+ games. Given his natural talent, his apparent work ethic and the improvement we saw form him last season, LaMello will likely be even better next season - especially with all the talent around him.

The challenge for LaMello, in addition to staying on the court, will be dialing down his usage, being more disciplined with his shot selection and becoming more of a pass-first PG who blends well with Anthony Edwards. Ant likes to have the ball in his hands and that’s a big part of his game. As we all know, Ant is not a spot-up shooter. He’s more of an MJ, Kobe type scorer. He was asked to do too much with the ball last season, but he can’t become a guy who spots up in the corner waiting for LaMello to feed him the ball. So Ant and LaMello will have to work things out between the two of them with guidance from Finch. The good news is that LaMello can play off the ball and hit threes. According to those who know him, he is also apparently very coachable and loves to pass.

My vision for this team isn’t LaMello with the ball repeatedly orchestrating the offense and doling out shots to select teammates in half-court sets. I still see this team, at its best, getting out on fast breaks and in then the ball around quickly with multiple players touching the ball in the half court. At least four of our five starters - LaMello, Ant, Jaden, and Rudy - plus Ayo are all double-digit scorers. If the ball moves a lot and moves quickly with good spacing, the Wolves offensive will be very hard to stop.

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Jul 21, 2026 11:59 am

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 21, 2026 11:26 am I was looking at what some current and former NBA stars have said about LaMello. The vast majority who’ve said anything about him have praised him. Michael Jordan drafted him and publicly praised him after his first season, which is something MJ has rarely done. Kevin Durant, who has played against him, has praised him a number of times. Perhaps the most interesting praise came from Magic Johnson. Following LaMelo's first All-Star appearance, Magic explicitly compared the young guard to himself on SiriusXM NBA Radio. According to a report by theScore, Magic raved: "He is a great creator of shots for his teammates. He puts on a show at the same time. He's exciting to watch... and he's a gym rat like I was. So every year, he's going to improve.

My biggest take-away from Magic’s critique was his comment: “he’s a gym rat like I was.” That comment aligns with what we’ve heard from others, including the reporter that Jon K interviewed. LaMello loves basketball and works on his game. He obviously doesn’t like the media star thing as we saw up close in his introductory press conference here. Magic’s projection that Ball was “going to improve” every year has been undercut by LaMello’s injuries, but he did actually improve overall last season when he was healthy again and on the court for 70+ games. Given his natural talent, his apparent work ethic and the improvement we saw form him last season, LaMello will likely be even better next season - especially with all the talent around him.

The challenge for LaMello, in addition to staying on the court, will be dialing down his usage, being more disciplined with his shot selection and becoming more of a pass-first PG who blends well with Anthony Edwards. Ant likes to have the ball in his hands and that’s a big part of his game. As we all know, Ant is not a spot-up shooter. He’s more of an MJ, Kobe type scorer. He was asked to do too much with the ball last season, but he can’t become a guy who spots up in the corner waiting for LaMello to feed him the ball. So Ant and LaMello will have to work things out between the two of them with guidance from Finch. The good news is that LaMello can play off the ball and hit threes. According to those who know him, he is also apparently very coachable and loves to pass.

My vision for this team isn’t LaMello with the ball repeatedly orchestrating the offense and doling out shots to select teammates in half-court sets. I still see this team, at its best, getting out on fast breaks and in then the ball around quickly with multiple players touching the ball in the half court. At least four of our five starters - LaMello, Ant, Jaden, and Rudy - plus Ayo are all double-digit scorers. If the ball moves a lot and moves quickly with good spacing, the Wolves offensive will be very hard to stop.

Lip over 50% of Edwards career 3's are assisted including 56% of his 3's last season. Those numbers don't dip in the playoffs. I believe his catch and shoot numbers are excellent. It was either Finch or Connelly that said Edwards has actually done some movement actions (gave specific play calls when he has done it) and they can increase that with him being off ball with Ball. They said he needs to be moving but it's something he has don't some of its not like he hasn't done it at all. Maybe that's what he is gonna work on this off-season.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 9:49 pm Some of the less learned can be brilliant on the basketball court. I'm going to guess that his IQ is higher than his worldly knowledge. A capable brain that isn't fed doesn't diminish the capability.

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Tue Jul 21, 2026 3:01 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 9:49 pm Some of the less learned can be brilliant on the basketball court. I'm going to guess that his IQ is higher than his worldly knowledge. A capable brain that isn't fed doesn't diminish the capability.

The kid was raised as a reality tv star and has traveled further and been exposed to more cultures than you can probably name.