Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch says LaMelo Ball has helped improve the team’s atmosphere since arriving from the Charlotte Hornets during the offseason.
Speaking Monday at Madison Square Garden before Minnesota’s preseason game against the New York Knicks, Finch praised Ball’s personality and his relationship with Anthony Edwards.
“He’s always in a great mood,” said Finch. “Always comes in smiling. He and Anthony have a shared quality: They’re really hard to stay mad at. And they do some things that you want to get mad at.
“They have a reflective joy, and I think that’s important. They tease the joy out of each other as practice goes along. So, that kind of adds to the overall spirit of the group, which we really needed.
“We referred to ourselves as a moody team in the last couple of years at times, and it’s probably gotten in our way. We’ve traded moodiness for giddiness, so we’ve got to kind of get back to some sort of equilibrium. But it’s been fun to go to work every day so far.”
Finch acknowledged that Minnesota had experienced problems with its attitude during the previous two seasons and believes Ball’s arrival has contributed to a more positive environment.
The 25-year-old guard has quickly developed a connection with Edwards, with both players bringing energy and enthusiasm to the team’s practices.
[td_flex_block_1 category_id="" custom_title="MORE FOR YOU" header_color="#e91e63" td_filter_default_txt="" tag_slug="" sort="random_7_day" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLXJpZ2h0IjoiMjUiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMjUiLCJtYXJnaW4tbGVmdCI6IjI1IiwicGFkZGluZy10b3AiOiIxMSIsInBhZGRpbmctcmlnaHQiOiIyNSIsInBhZGRpbmctYm90dG9tIjoiMTEiLCJwYWRkaW5nLWxlZnQiOiIyNSIsImJhY2tncm91bmQtY29sb3IiOiIjZjNmNGY2IiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiIsIi0tdGRiLXNjcm9sbC1hbmltIjoibm9uZSJ9LCJwaG9uZSI6eyJtYXJnaW4tcmlnaHQiOiIwIiwibWFyZ2luLWxlZnQiOiIwIiwicGFkZGluZy1yaWdodCI6IjE1IiwicGFkZGluZy1sZWZ0IjoiMTUiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBob25lX21heF93aWR0aCI6NzY3fQ==" mx3f_title_font_transform="" mx3f_title_font_weight="700" title_tag="h3" all_modules_space="0" video_popup="" image_size="td_218x150" image_height="65" image_floated="eyJwaG9uZSI6ImZsb2F0X2xlZnQifQ==" autoplay_vid="" show_vid_t="none" modules_category="image" modules_category_margin="eyJhbGwiOiI1cHgiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjVweCJ9" modules_extra_cat="hide" show_author="none" show_date="none" show_com="none" show_review="none" show_excerpt="none" show_audio="none" show_btn="none" f_title_font_size="15" f_title_font_line_height="1.25" f_title_font_weight="600" f_title_font_spacing="-0.2" cat_bg="#e16e00" modules_divider="solid" category_ids="-4430,-5489,-11" show_cat="" modules_on_row="eyJhbGwiOiIzMy4zMzMzMzMzMyUiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjEwMCUifQ==" limit="3" meta_info_align="" modules_divider_color="#333333" image_width="eyJhbGwiOiIxMDAiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjQwIn0=" meta_info_border_color="" modules_border_color="" modules_gap="15" m_padding="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjE1cHggMHB4IDE1cHggMHB4In0=" art_title="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjBweCAwcHggMHB4IDE1cHgifQ==" video_icon="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjIwIn0=" f_cat_font_size="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjgifQ=="]Minnesota acquired Ball from Charlotte in exchange for Naz Reid, a 2033 first-round pick, three second-round selections and three first-round pick swaps.
According to Finch, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly had discussed a potential trade involving Ball with Charlotte several times over the previous year.
Ball joins a Minnesota team looking to improve on last season’s playoff performance, which ended with a six-game second-round defeat against the San Antonio Spurs.
