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‘THE BEST BACKCOURT IN THE NBA’ 👀 Perk… — ESPN shadowing | TryShadowing
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‘THE BEST BACKCOURT IN THE NBA’ 👀 Perk on LaMelo Ball teaming up with Anthony Edwards | SportsCenter
‘THE BEST BACKCOURT IN THE NBA’ 👀 Perk on LaMelo Ball teaming up with Anthony Edwards | SportsCenter
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8:06 · Jun 26, 2026
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LaMelo
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Now, LaMelo Soda, we we'll workshop that.
0:02
Either way, the Timberwolves acquired LaMelo Ball
0:05
and Josh Green in a trade with the Hornets.
0:07
A deal that comes with the cost of Minnesota fan favorite Naz Reid,
0:10
as well as future draft capital.
0:12
Now, if Ball, the future former Rookie of the Year, can stay healthy,
0:16
the pairing of Ball
0:17
and Anthony Edwards could become one of the NBA's most explosive backcourts.
0:24
>> Shams and Perk, kind enough to kick it with us here on SportsCenter.
0:27
Shams, we'll start with you.
0:28
When we spoke with you on Wednesday night,
0:30
you mentioned that it was just all boiled down to the price being right
0:34
for LaMelo,
0:35
but it feels like it all came together so quickly.
0:37
How did this come together so fast?
0:41
>> Bro, I I told you,
0:42
24 to 48 hours if a team hits that price threshold.
0:45
And for the first time really in LaMelo Ball's career,
0:48
there were a slew of teams trying to trade for him,
0:51
negotiating with the Charlotte Hornets, upping the price.
0:54
Minnesota, Toronto, Portland, all these teams made aggressive offers from my understanding,
1:00
and the price kept going up.
1:01
The Timberwolves finally met the threshold though.
1:03
Naz Reid, a big man with Charlotte wanted,
1:06
they threw in an unprotected first-round pick, three pick swaps,
1:09
three second-round picks.
1:10
And the Minnesota Timberwolves,
1:11
there's a pressure that comes with having an Anthony Edwards on your team,
1:15
and a price to pay.
1:16
Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore,
1:18
they are now entering the luxury tax for the third straight year.
1:21
That's the price of admission to trying to compete in the Western Conference with
1:25
Anthony Edwards.
1:25
They really felt like they needed a talent infusion.
1:28
There's the There's the team that let go of Julius Randle to Brooklyn.
1:32
They knew they needed a piece, they saw LaMelo Ball was available,
1:35
and they stepped up, and they got it done.
1:37
And for Charlotte, you get a a haul back to trade a player that's
1:40
beloved in Charlotte.
1:42
>> Yeah, man, and with all of those money moves made,
1:43
it still feels like the price of a brick is going up.
1:45
So, Perk, what was your reaction when Minnesota made these moves?
1:51
>> Oh, I love it.
1:52
And I know there's a lot of people out there
1:53
that got a lot of negative things to say about LaMelo Ball,
1:57
but let me start off by saying this.
1:59
When he's healthy and he's available, this young man is box office.
2:03
He plays at an all-NBA level.
2:06
Anthony Edwards has been dying to play with a true point guard.
2:10
Not only can he get buckets,
2:12
but for us pushing the tempo
2:14
and setting the stage
2:15
and allowing Anthony Edwards to go back to his natural position of being an
2:20
actual two guard and a scoring guard,
2:22
it's going to take so much pressure off the Ant-Man.
2:25
This is right now, to me, the best backcourt in the NBA.
2:30
And people can talk about LaMelo Ball and they can not like him,
2:33
but the one man this man love is adversity.
2:36
His entire life, when everybody has been going right, he goes left.
2:40
Think about it.
2:41
He wasn't He wasn't your typical prospect coming out of high school
2:45
that went to college.
2:46
He went overseas and did it his way,
2:49
and then got drafted into the NBA.
2:51
This is a perfect match, well done by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
2:55
If I'm Anthony Edwards,
2:56
I'm thrilled and I'm excited to see this this Minnesota Timberwolves take place next
3:02
season.
3:02
>> The Timberwolves have been busy.
3:04
They made two trades in the last 3 days.
3:06
Hard to notice, though.
3:07
Hard not to notice them getting smaller, subtracting Julius Randle,
3:11
subtracting Naz Reid from the equation.
3:13
So, Shams, are the Timberwolves done dealing here?
3:17
>> Uh their focus is getting a four.
3:19
They want to go out there in the marketplace.
3:20
They're not going to have much to work with, though.
3:22
They're not going to have the money with salary cap space
3:25
and exception like the mid-level.
3:27
They're just not going to be in that mode,
3:28
but they're going to have minimums to offer.
3:30
And Tim Connelly, the president of basketball operations in Minnesota,
3:33
he was described to me by multiple GMs today as a gunslinger,
3:36
someone that is going to take risks and take swings.
3:39
We saw it several years ago with Rudy Gobert,
3:41
when they traded all those picks to go get Rudy Gobert.
3:43
They had their two conference finals appearances.
3:46
Now, he's doing it again with LaMelo Ball,
3:48
but he also is known as a recruiter.
3:50
So, they have their hands full this this coming next week where they've got
3:54
to convince some guys to take a little bit less to join Ant Edwards
3:57
and LaMelo.
3:58
>> Well, and Perk, you mentioned it.
3:59
You said this is the best backcourt perhaps with Anthony Edwards and LaMelo,
4:03
but it's hard not to notice how that series went against the Spurs,
4:07
them getting smaller.
4:08
How does this new Wolves lineup How do What do you make of this
4:11
new Wolves lineup with
4:12
that consideration?
4:14
>> Well, well, I mean,
4:15
you got to look at guys like Jaden McDaniels who the Minnesota Timberwolves has
4:20
basically made untouchable.
4:21
And even Rudy Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year,
4:25
and they got to elevate their game.
4:27
They have to accept the challenge.
4:29
Just like we witnessed Karl-Anthony Towns with the New York Knicks embrace being the
4:33
starting center,
4:34
embrace actually playing defense.
4:37
Those guys are going to have to elevate.
4:39
The one person in this lineup
4:41
that Anthony Edwards loves the most is Jaden McDaniels.
4:45
We We've heard him come out publicly talking about how much he he loves
4:49
Jaden McDaniels.
4:50
And every single season, every year, every postseason, Jaden McDaniels has gotten better.
4:56
And I think you got to trust in until your player development
5:00
and Coach Finch that they're going to find ways to put these these guys
5:04
in position to be successful,
5:06
but I'm not panicking at all.
5:07
You go out and you find some athletic wings, a athletic four,
5:11
a three-and-D guy, and get them at the right price,
5:14
you're cooking with grease.
5:16
>> Shams, I want to pivot over to the Charlotte side of this equation though.
5:18
They've moved on from LaMelo, obviously.
5:20
They've elevated Coby White into that void by re-signing him,
5:23
adding Naz Reid as well, but what's next for them?
5:27
>> Well, they they have a lot of flexibility.
5:29
They've got among the most first-round picks in the NBA.
5:32
They've got a ton of assets to play with if they want.
5:34
Miles Bridges is a player at the wing that's He's getting a ton of
5:38
interest around the league
5:39
as far as trade.
5:40
So, you think about LaMelo Ball,
5:42
the the guy that he came into the league with in a lot of
5:44
ways was a guy like Miles Bridges.
5:46
So, we'll see what happens with his future, but Coby White, 3 years,
5:50
$74 million.
5:50
He steps into that role in the backcourt
5:53
that LaMelo Ball now
5:55
that LaMelo Ball is out.
5:56
So, Coby White is in.
5:57
They drafted another point guard as well in Christian Andersen.
6:00
So, they've moved on kind of in the backcourt.
6:03
They have some flexibility to do stuff around the edges in the frontcourt
6:07
and on the wings.
6:08
Naz Reid is going to be a big addition to this team as well.
6:11
They already got some trade calls in on him,
6:13
but the plan is right now to keep him.
6:15
Uh so, this is a team
6:16
that they they could still shift the roster around a little bit
6:19
if they want.
6:20
>> Okay, so Perk, with that understanding,
6:21
knowing that they made the run
6:23
that they did quite unexpectedly to
6:25
that play-in tournament,
6:26
and they really made some noise in it.
6:28
Frankly, how do you see the Charlotte Hornets positioned at this point
6:32
and going forward?
6:35
>> Well, they're still going to be in the same position in my opinion.
6:38
They're going to be a team that's going to be a play-in team that's
6:41
going to be looking to get into the playoffs.
6:43
Now, make no mistake about it, they have some young talent.
6:47
They have elite talent over there.
6:49
I believe this is a golden opportunity for Coby White to elevate his game.
6:54
Naz Reid, he's he's a starter when it comes to that power forward,
6:58
that four position.
7:00
A conquer nipple, we saw
7:01
that he finished second last year in Rookie of the Year for his Rookie
7:05
of the Year right behind Cooper Flag.
7:07
So, again, you have Brandon Miller.
7:10
You have the assets.
7:11
You have the culture now.
7:13
My only problem is is
7:14
that they're going to have to come out to a hot start,
7:17
win games because the one thing we know about LaMelo Ball,
7:21
he put butts in seats.
7:22
He sell jerseys.
7:23
In order for them to keep that crowd engaged, the fan base engaged,
7:28
they're going to have to get off to a hot start to keep
7:30
that arena packed.
7:31
Yeah, I ain't going to lie to y'all, man.
7:32
I had no idea how much Melo moved the needle,
7:34
especially amongst the youngins cuz I cannot claim that myself now.
7:38
It it is to go Hey, let me tell you something.
7:40
>> Yeah.
7:40
Walk into Walk into a AAU gym with me
7:44
and watch LaMelo Ball walk in
7:45
and watch how the kids go crazy.
7:47
I'm trying to tell you.
7:48
>> He shut it down.
7:49
No question.
7:51
>> Down.
7:51
>> Perk.
7:51
>> Champs.
7:52
Appreciate y'all holding us down.
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