MINNEAPOLIS — A video made the rounds on social media last week that showed Tim Connelly and Chris Finch taking a walk across a bridge in downtown Minneapolis.

Without context or foresight, that quick image captured by a fan in his car offered nothing more than the Timberwolves president of basketball of operations and head coach getting some steps in.

Knowing what we know now, a recording of their conversation might have turned the NBA upside down, not to mention ruin a surprise that Connelly unveiled in two parts this week.

Connelly has served as chief architect of the Wolves roster since May 2022. He has executed three blockbuster trades in those four years and trusted that his walking companion will make the pieces fit.

That task reminds me of a TV cooking show in which contestants are given an eclectic mix of ingredients and told to prepare a dish for judges. Finch has been handed an ever-changing mix of players in lead roles and told to produce a team that can contend for a title.

This should be his easiest project.

The arrival of LaMelo Ball gives the Wolves an All-Star-caliber point guard. Their lack of a primary ballhandler and court organizer this past season caused a ripple effect of disruption. Finch felt compelled to move Anthony Edwards into that role on the eve of the season, a dramatic shift the coach later described as an “original sin.”

Edwards is not a natural point guard. Ball has that covered. And now Finch has the most dynamic shooting backcourt in the NBA and potentially the best overall if those megawatt talents fit neatly together.

My initial 30-second reaction after hearing about the trade was to wonder how two players who like/need the ball in their hands a lot will fit when paired.

Upon reflection, I think this tandem could be exceptional.

Ball is not a selfish player. He’s flashy. He’s creative. Occasionally, he takes shots that will leave you scratching your head and asking, “What was that?!” But he’s not selfish.

Ball ranks among the league leaders in assists every season. He owns a career average of 7.3 per game. He makes players around him better.

The Charlotte Hornets had one of the most efficient offenses in the NBA this past season. And yet Ball’s scoring and shot totals decreased.

The NBA tracks a statistic known as “gravity.” Essentially, this measures how much attention a player commands from the defense, with and without the ball. It’s a telling metric that highlights a player’s influence on opening things up for teammates.

Edwards posted the league’s second-highest gravity rating this past season, behind only Kevin Durant. That should benefit Ball, who ranked second in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game (10.3) and made 37% of them. Defenses now will have to account for two scorers and volume shooters in the Wolves backcourt.

Finch’s philosophy as a coach is rooted in offensive freedom. He believes basketball should be improvisational.

“I don’t think the game should be overly patterned, programmed, scripted,” he told me over a beer for a column in 2025.

He shouldn’t have to worry about that with his new AntMelo duo.

Great players should be able to figure things out. It might take Edwards and Ball some time to learn each other’s strengths and how to best play alongside the other, but this is basketball, not space exploration. Both are smart, instinctual players who have supreme athletic traits.

Version 1.0 of Connelly’s tenure was far more clunky to assemble than this iteration. Pairing Rudy Gobert with Karl-Anthony Towns vastly improved the Wolves defensively but was unconventional in modern basketball.

The pairing of Julius Randle with Edwards showed promise until it didn’t.

A playmaking point guard of Ball’s ability brings a different dimension and could lead to something special. This is an experiment, no question. A fascinating one.

Connelly’s evaluation of Ball is not shared by all league observers. Some of the bad reviews for the trade are tied to Ball’s extensive injury history. There are also swipes at him being an erratic player who has never made the playoffs.

Connelly has distinguished himself as an executive who makes bold, unemotional moves that carry significant risks. He traded two fan favorites, Towns and Naz Reid, in the prime of their careers because he believed he could make the team better.

I applaud any executive who evaluates his team with an honest view. Connelly looked at the Spurs and Thunder and realized that his team as constructed wasn’t good enough to catch them. Standing pat and hoping for a different outcome rather than choosing an aggressive path that brings risk might be easier to stomach, but it allows the unknown to become paralyzing.

The trades this week signal the Wolves are still committed to being all-in.

We don’t know what Connelly and Finch were actually discussing on their walk. But if they were strategizing a way to create a backcourt of Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, it proves that sometimes big plans are hatched on power walks.

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