With less than a month to go before the 2020 NBA Draft finally takes place, the Minnesota Timberwolves are doing their vetting of top prospects. That now includes news that they have met with the well known LaMelo Ball.
According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, the Timberwolves’ brass met with Ball in Southern California on Tuesday. It was attended by team president Gersson Rosas and head coach Ryan Saunders. Said meeting did not include any basketball activity.
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Will the Minnesota Timberwolves select LaMelo Ball No. 1?
Boasting the first pick in the upcoming draft, the Timberwolves would make some major news if they opted to add Ball to the mix. The 19-year-old guard from Southern California is seen as a legit force on offense. He has range as a shooter and can pass the ball with the best of them.
However, the Timberwolves also made news early this year by trading for Golden State Warriors star guard D’Angelo Russell. Russell is seen as ball-dominant. The same goes for the younger of the three Ball brothers.
Some might argue that this is the Timberwolves doing their due diligence. The expectation is that they’ll continue to meet with top prospects leading up to the draft. That includes James Wiseman and Anthony Edwards.
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However, news of the Timberwolves getting together with Ball fits in tightly with suggestions that he’s favored to go to Minnesota with the first pick. How that dynamic would look with Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns remains to be seen.
As with the Warriors picking No. 2 overall, the Timberwolves are said to be open to trading the first pick. Any news on that front likely wouldn’t come to fruition until draft night on Nov. 18.
As for the young guard, there’s no reason to believe that he’ll last beyond the first three picks in the draft. His stock simply continues to skyrocket. That could lead to a trip to the Twin Cities and a newly-minted Timberwolves jersey here soon.