Rudy Gobert joined the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday after nearly a decade of playing on the Utah Jazz, reported Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Gobert, 30, will join the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell but Minnesota may have given up too much for the Frenchman.
Tim Connelly, the new president of the Timberwolves, sent Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Walker Kessler and Leandro Bolmaro to the Jazz in exchange for Gobert.
Connelly didn’t stop there, though, as he also gave up unprotected first-round picks in 2023, 2025 and 2027 and a top-five-protected first-rounder in 2029.
A combo of five players and four first-round draft picks for a 7-foot-1 center with career averages of 12.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game may prove to be too big of a package in the long run.
Timberwolves want to win an NBA title now
One thing is certain: the Timberwolves are going “all in” on next season with their “Big 3” core in Towns, Edwards and Russell.
Adding Gobert to the picture means Towns, the world’s best shooting big man, will go back to playing at the power forward position.
Towns, who reportedly agreed to a four-year, $224 million supermax extension with Minnesota on Friday, will no longer have to defend the league’s most-dominant big men.
Gobert, the best rim protector in the NBA, will take care of Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and other centers, while Towns controls the offensive end.
Fans always ask which team won the trade and in this case, the only way the Timberwolves win is if it leads to an NBA title in the next three to four years.
Marca
