Edwards Gets a Co-Star, and the $38M Check Comes With Two Very Different Seasons Attached

2026-10-02

Look, Anthony Edwards is talking up his new partnership with LaMelo Ball, and I get the buzz. Minnesota looked at a stacked league and decided standing still was the riskiest move on the board.

Now the bill. Two stars means two big checks, and Ball drew $38.0M last season with the Charlotte Hornets.

Here's the swing that matters. His WAGE Score went from 3 in 2024-25 to 58 in 2025-26. That's a band whose second album sounds nothing like the first, and you're buying tour tickets without knowing which record they'll play.

In 2025-26 he was paid like the 36th player in the league and produced like the 47th, across 72 games (the number I'd circle in red on any two-star payroll). That's Going Rate: full price in, roughly full price back.

So does the check buy Minnesota extra wins? I think only if the 2025-26 version shows up again, because that's the one producing close to his price and giving Edwards a running mate you can build a rotation around.

The new season asks one thing of that salary: production that stays where it landed last season, not where it sat the year before. Edwards got his co-star. The money is hoping for the sequel, not the reboot.