Michael Rand: LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards tease just how good these Wolves could be

Michael Rand, Star Tribune on Oct 6, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — It was one thing to hear Wolves players and head coach Chris Finch talk for the past week about good vibes that have permeated the offseason and training camp, as well as big plans for pushing the ball up and down the court with a more dynamic pace-based offense.

Seeing was believing in Monday’s preseason opener, a 116-97 win at Milwaukee in which their likely starters during the regular season logged heavy first-half minutes in a test of their early chemistry, and then watched from the bench as several reserves had their moments in the second half.

The first basket on the first possession of the game came on a Jonathan Kuminga layup off a LaMelo Ball pick-and-roll assist. Not long after, Ball hit an open 3, then set up Anthony Edwards for another, giving the Wolves a quick 15-7 lead.

It was around that time, and again during a second-quarter burst during which Edwards, Ball and Kuminga keyed a 12-0 run, that this thought became a persistent one: The Wolves are going to be fun to watch this season, and they are going to be fun for Finch to coach.

Remember: Finch came to the Wolves with a reputation for offensive alchemy. The first year the Wolves made the playoffs under Finch in 2021-22, they were seventh in offensive rating and No. 1 in the NBA in pace.

Their style and identity changed substantially with the arrival of Rudy Gobert in the 2022 offseason and again when Julius Randle arrived in 2024 to a team built more around defense and slowing things down.

“It’s kind of fun to think about,” Finch said late last week when asked about having the ability to play faster and freer this season. “In years past, we just embraced being a slower team although we tried to be faster in any way we could.

“We just realized we had limitations there and we tried to maximize. This year we just have so much depth and guys who are good in the open floor. ... It’s exciting to watch and it kind of makes it a simpler style of basketball at times.”

Simpler is how it looked for much of Monday’s first half, with Ball creating space for himself and teammates with ease.

Because the 6-7 Ball can get to the basket, shoot from crazy distances or deftly find teammates, he has a certain gravity that Wolves point guards of recent vintage have lacked.

Even on a seemingly simple drive-and-kick to Edwards early in the first quarter, you can see all three elements come into play. The result was a catch-and-shoot 3 for Edwards, the kind of shot he made 50% of the time last season and drilled in this case.

When the Wolves traded for Gobert in 2022, they gave themselves an all-time great defensive player who assured them of a certain floor. They were going to be a playoff team unless things went haywire, and that would enable Edwards to grow in meaningful postseason situations.

When they traded Karl-Anthony Towns on the eve of the 2024-25 season in the deal to get Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and the pick that became Joan Beringer, they gave themselves future cap flexibility but also a clear identity: it was Ant’s team.

Both moves worked to a large degree, as Edwards evolved and the Wolves won five playoff series over the past three seasons.

But neither of those moves made Edwards’ life easier on offense, nor were they geared toward a play style that suits him best. The move to trade Randle while acquiring Ball and later Kuminga in free agency gave Edwards additional running mates and a point guard who can take a lot of pressure off him.

The early results Monday were positive: Edwards had 14 points in the first half even while shooting just 1 for 7 from 3-point range. And he had the energy to block a shot and go coast-to-coast for a three-point play during a key surge in the second quarter.

Of the reserves who figure to have regular rotation roles, Joan Beringer brought the most uncertainty into Monday’s game.

As it turned out, he also delivered the most intrigue.

The 2025 first-round pick, who still won’t turn 20 until next month, had a bevy of athletic plays near the rim. Among them was this huge put-back dunk:

Beringer finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and a block, but also two turnovers and four fouls. In other words, he packed a lot into his 15 minutes.

Notice that there hasn’t been one word yet about Jaden McDaniels (nine points and a plus-10 in 15 minutes), Gobert (six points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes) or Ayo Dosunmu (five points in 13 minutes). Several deeper reserves keyed a strong fourth quarter as the Wolves put the game away.

They were fun to watch and they won. Those two things could happen a lot this season.