Minnesota Sports Forum

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0. True Minnesota fans know he will pull a hammy this weekend. It will linger. We will be commenting on his sweet jackets on the sidelines.

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 9:41 am 0. True Minnesota fans know he will pull a hammy this weekend. It will linger. We will be commenting on his sweet jackets on the sidelines.

There's still a lot for me to unpack regarding this latest move. I've only caught/read headlines. I make no secret of the fact that Naz was one of my favorite players...so my initial thoughts are not great. It was just last night that I started trying to put a positive spin on the Randle dump by realizing it might lead to Naz starting at PF this season.

I'm also a little concerned with the draft capital going out on a lot of TC moves. It's starting to remind me of (former) Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo Mensah. I look at sending out future draft picks as like spending on a credit card. Yes, it can work short term on occasion. But it's generally not a recipe for long term success. We shall see....I gotta read up more on this when I have more time. And it seems like there are still more moves coming, so I will just take a deep breathe and let the dust settle.

Lamelo's injury history is the most concerning thing about this trade. Hopefully he can put that behind him with the Wolves award winning medical staff.

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Monster wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 11:15 am Lamelo's injury history is the most concerning thing about this trade. Hopefully he can put that behind him with the Wolves award winning medical staff.

I agree, Monster, but it's encouraging that he is young and played 72 games last season.

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 11:26 am

Monster wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 11:15 am Lamelo's injury history is the most concerning thing about this trade. Hopefully he can put that behind him with the Wolves award winning medical staff.

I agree, Monster, but it's encouraging that he is young and played 72 games last season.

I just hope the team is smart with him. This past season they limited his minutes to around 30mpg. With the Wolves having Ayo (and TSJ) they should easily be able to keep Ball's minutes in that range.

I'm unsure about the Hornets culture when it comes to injuries and rest. Plus, there were some pretty poor Hornets teams.

But we can speak on the Wolves at this point... and the Wolves seem to have a culture of playing when you're "good enough" to play. IF that holds true, peer pressure might work and Ball nears or surpasses last year's total with a bit of luck.

I have a lot to catch up on, this moved so quickly. Did anyone pay any attention to Ball over the years? Were some of the injuries more minor, and the Hornets just decided to tank for higher draft picks and sit him out in some of the years?