Timberwolves Making Moves

The trade no one saw coming was this one: the Minnesota Timberwolves are trading for all-star Jazz Center Rudy Gobert. It was pretty clear that the Jazz wanted to part ways with either Gobert or Donovan Mitchell so that they could start a potential team rebuild, because the season just never ended the way they wanted. But it was unexpected that the Timberwolves would want Gobert because they already have a talented center in Karl-Anthony Towns. Perhaps Timberwolves are looking to add defensive-type players to their roster. Gobert can help the Timberwolves with much needed defense at Center, while Towns, who won the three-point contest, will get moved to Power Forward, where he will benefit the team by shooting more three-pointers, beneficial for the team. 

So, it’s pretty clear that the Jazz are in rebuild mode. For Gobert, they received a few role players and multiple first-round picks. With all of this internal team trading occurring, some sources speculate that Donovan Mitchell will want out of Utah because he won’t want to wait around for a rebuild that may be a gamble, and instead will want to go to a team that has a championship-caliber roster. 

In any case, the Timberwolves won this trade. They got a high-level defender  who has won multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards and someone with high rebound numbers. It will be interesting to see how this lineup will play together throughout this upcoming season.