Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert trade not only aged better than anyone predicted, it created a monster in Minnesota

When Tim Connelly traded for Rudy Gobert a mere six weeks after taking over as president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the summer of 2022, he was roundly mocked for what was, without exaggeration, deemed by many to be one of the worst trades in NBA history. 

I disagreed with the masses, penning the following assessment of the deal:

Gobert is a one-man defense, and notions that he loses defensive viability in the playoffs have been greatly exaggerated. Given the Wolves’ ability to score the ball with Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, this suddenly looks like a really good team. It will have to be to justify this steep of a price, but it’s worth the risk. It’s been ages since the Wolves were actually a team to take this seriously, and besides, I don’t subscribe to the theory that teams have to contend for a championship to warrant these kinds of gambles. 

Indeed, the Wolves aren’t going to win the title [in 2023]. It’s probably a good bet that they won’t win one during the Gobert era, however long that lasts. You know why? Because only one team wins it all. That doesn’t mean the other 29 did it wrong. 

For the Wolves, this is a major jolt of franchise energy, building on the momentum they’ve already created with the drafting of Edwards and [the 2022] playoff appearance. You can talk about how much the Wolves gave up, but the reality is teams like the Wolves almost always have to overpay to land elite players. Gobert almost locks in Minnesota as a 50-win team, and potentially closer to 55. 

With the benefit of hindsight, I would, obviously, go even further in my praise of the Gobert trade. Indeed, the Wolves won 56 games this year on the strength of one of the best defenses in recent memory, which was anchored by Gobert, who claimed his fourth Defensive Player of the Year trophy, but it’s more than that. Not only are the Wolves contenders to win it all this season. You could argue they’re the favorite. 

That’s not all, or even mostly, because of Gobert. Edwards — who is trying to shut down the Michael…

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Author : Brad Botkin

Publish date : 2024-05-21 23:01:22

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