Is Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert trade a win despite huge price tag?
News that the Utah Jazz traded All-Star center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves last week sent shock waves through the NBA.
Utah is reportedly receiving Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt and multiple first-round picks in the deal.
On Monday's "First Things First," Chris Broussard explained why the move is a big win for Minnesota despite the hefty price tag, which cohost Nick Wright described as "the single most egregious overpay in NBA history."
Gobert will be entering the season on a five-year, $205 million contract that will pay him roughly $38 million in 2022-23.
"If Utah had kept Gobert and in some type of trade they add Karl-Anthony Towns, I think a lot of people would be saying, ‘Watch out for the Jazz!’" Broussard said. "They certainly were a great regular-season team with just Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Now, I think Anthony Edwards could be — he's like a bigger version of Donovan Mitchell. I got Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, so I think they're gonna win more than 50 games next year. I'm not ready to say a contender … because I think their main guy, Edwards, is still young."
Timberwolves give up five players, four picks for Rudy Gobert
"But I think this improved them," Broussard added. "They're a small-market team. They're not gonna be a free-agent destination. They did give up a lot -- Nick [Wright] is right, but I think they got better in the end. You can play Towns and Gobert together because Towns is a terrific 3-point shooter. … They had trouble protecting the rim — they were horrible at that — [and] they answered that with Gobert. I think they got much better."
Gobert, 30, is a three-time All-Star and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21). He has averaged 12.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks while shooting 65.3% from the field across nine seasons for Utah. Gobert averaged 15.6 points last season on a career-best 71.3% from the floor, while also posting 14.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks on 32.1 minutes per game.
The Jazz acquired Mitchell in a draft-day trade after he was selected 13th overall by Denver in 2017, but the pair never had the postseason success that the organization was banking on.
The Jazz finished fifth (49-33) in the West last season, while the T-wolves came in seventh at 46-36. Both teams advanced to the postseason to lose in the opening round of the playoffs.
Minnesota will look to bounce back next season and capitalize on its second postseason appearance since 2004 with a formidable twin-towers lineup consisting of Gobert and veteran Towns (who re-signed on a four-year, $224 million supermax), promising young forward Jaden McDaniels and the skilled guard pairing of Edwards and D'Angelo Russell.
