Chris Finch: Timberwolves did Anthony Edwards a ‘disservice’ before LaMelo Ball trade

Anthony Edwards put up the best numbers of his career last season. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch still believes Minnesota asked him to do too much.

During an appearance on the Road Trippin’ Show, Finch said the Wolves did Edwards a “disservice” by relying on him so heavily as a point guard.

“It caught up to us,” Finch said. “He did a really great job, but in the playoffs it was just double team after double team.”

That’s one reason Minnesota made the move for LaMelo Ball.

Edwards averaged a career-high 28.8 points last season while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from three. But Finch believes putting the ball in his hands so often made the Wolves easier to defend, particularly in the playoffs.

“We got to get him back to his natural position off the ball,” Finch said. “We didn’t create enough catch-and-shoot threes for him.”

Enter Ball. Finch pointed to Ball’s ability to make life easier on teammates, noting that Kon Knueppel shot seven percentage points better from three last season when Ball was on the floor.

“LaMelo’s a phenomenal talent all by himself,” Finch said. “We needed the connective tissue. We needed the point guard play.”

The idea, then, isn’t to ask Edwards to do less because he can’t handle the responsibility. It’s to let him do more of what makes him dangerous.

Minnesota learned last season that having Edwards initiate everything can make life easier on opposing defenses. With Ball handling more of the creation, the Wolves hope Edwards can spend more time attacking defenses before they’re waiting for him.