The Timberwolves paid a hefty price to the Jazz to acquire Rudy Gobert. Minnesota was heavily criticized for giving up five players and a package of first-rounders for the defensive stalwart after Gobert’s first season in the organization. However, the trade can now be considered a resounding win for the Timberwolves, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic opines.
Krawczynski cites Gobert’s impact over the past two seasons and suggests the team’s success during that stretch have changed the culture in Minnesota. The organization has become a place players want to play with heightened expectations and Gobert has been a big part of that change.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The Timberwolves have officially hired Mahmoud Abdelfattah as head coach of the Iowa Wolves, the club’s NBA G League affiliate, according to a team press release. The Wolves’ decision to hire him was reported last month. Most recently, Abdelfattah spent the 2023/24 season as the head coach of the Sydney Kings of Australia’s National Basketball League. Prior to his time with the NBL’s Kings, the Chicago native spent four seasons (2019-2023) in the Rockets organization.
- Alperen Sengun has been one of the stars of the EuroBasket tournament, which comes as no surprise to Rockets coach Ime Udoka, according to Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle. That’s what Udoka advised his starting center when he visited Turkey this summer. “It was really, ‘Be aggressive and get back to dominating as you have throughout your career,’ basically,” Udoka said. “For him, we wanted to work on specific things and the way they guard him over in Europe, in EuroBasket. And he’s doing a great job, obviously, getting high assist numbers, being very efficient, but doing all the things and trying to be well rounded. So it wasn’t just about scoring the ball.”
- Speaking of Udoka, the Rockets coach received this message from Kevin Durant — use me in any way necessary. Durant would rather fit in than have their young core become passive. “He wants to kind of be implemented into the group, and people not take a back seat to him,” Udoka told Lerner. “That’s his message to a lot of the young guys: Be who you are, continue to grow in those areas, and I’ll fit in where we see necessary.”
Such bad logic on Gobert. He has been good ish, and the picks have been mediocre so far. That doesnt change the fact that you should still have more picks to play with, because at the time that was more than you should have to give up to get Gobert.
Its also not at all inconceivable that with Kessler instead of Gobert on his contract, and whatever you could get with allllll those picks wouldnt be far better than this team that lucked its way into some WCF appearances.
Revisionist history doesnt change what at the time was a huge overpay.
Gobert is boring , gets exposed in the playoffs and yet folks make excuses for him! Astounding! Paid like a star and won’t expand his game.
Did we give up too many draft picks for him? Probably. Are other teams also doing similar overpays? Also true. Did he change the defensive culture of our team (which had been a huge weakness for years!)? YES! Would we have gotten to the Western Conference Finals two years in a row without that trade happening? Probably not. Was the trade worth it? Absolutely!!
The Nets did for Bridges, but I dont think it was viewed as a overpay to the same degree at the time.
Otherwise who else has given up the godfather package? For a dude thats meh and a top what 30 player thats declining and extremely limited in playoff schemes. Like there were times in this playoffs that Gobert was unplayable. We know this because he was getting benched in crunch time.
If the team had used its resources smarter I very much think they could have performed better in the playoffs in the last 4 years. Gobert is probably about to decline, and still has zero ability on offense. The high point may have already been reached, and now they will need to do all kinds of gymnastics to try and rebuild the team on the fly for Ants actual prime with minimal resources. Like 2 of the 5 starters are pretty close to out of gas.
Ok but not great outcomes dont change that it was not the right time to go all in, and limit the teams flexibility so much moving forward when Ant was 21. And they may lose him eventually or waste his real prime because of the domino effects on the budget and assets because of this trade.
Fair enough, you seem tego be very sure of it so why the hll not :)
Gobert looks goofy, but his +\- doesn’t lie.
Goofy is the word. Couldn’t stand his awkwardness on the Jazz. How is his +/- in the playoffs though?
Gobert would look best on a poor defensive side that can’t rebound (Phoenix, Charlotte, LAL). He could transform those teams.
Minnesota have assembled a team with a lot of size, rebounding and interior presence on defense. In a team like that, Gobert is not that effective. When Randle was getting triple-doubles in the playoffs, Ant, McDaniels, NAW, Reid and others played good defense, Rudy looked redundant, apart from that one memorable game against LAL. In the regular season, when many players coast on defense, he’s good. In the playoffs, when players tend to give it all, I don’t see how he’s going to be a big factor for that team.
It was smart for Minnesota to try to send KD to Phoenix. Both teams would have benefited from that trade.
Its tough to be so offensively limited. Like dude is 7’2″, and can barely put the ball in the hole. He pretty much only scores on lobs that he doesnt have to bring down below his head before dunking.