Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves

[Monster]

Long time Lurker...back to the ESPN board days, first time poster.

When I first saw the Gobert trade, my jaw dropped. That many picks! But the more I think about this, I'm fully on board. Name a section at the target center after TC already! Ok, getting a bit a head of our selves.

If this trade works out like it could, we could be dynamite for several years, maybe not Golden State big show, but is it now times for the t-pups era? Lets see how the c-suite rounds out the rest of the squad.

Instead of thinking about this from a common trend of other teams standpoint, why not try to break the mold with the talent we have.

Scoring, creating plays on the team from last year:
ANT = 1A
KAT = 1B
DLO = 2

When this worked, it really really worked. Rarely did it work though.

So how do we optimize that team?

Gobert!

Towns can now be Towns, a 7 foot shooting guard who can drop bombs as a 3 level scorer on offense with out expending all of the energy on defense guarding the other teams big. He acts like a shooting guard, not a center, why make him guard centers? Put him on the undersized PF where he be so so at defense.

Dlo is the true SloMo, he truly doesn't have any break-by-you speed, he slow, methodical, and when he is on, he can throw rainbow's down from anywhere on the floor. How do you give him more space to operate? Give him a big center that sets excellent picks/screens, has good hands, and is great at running to the rim, now defenders need to account for this.

Ant: he doesn't need anyone else, he needs to grow, he is our future. But, Gobert around him? Lets start with Goberts reported fire for the game, that will suit Ant real well, he has it too, they both just want to win. When Ant drives and the entire team sells out and clogs the front side of the lane on A1? Backside Alley anyone, Gobert lobs ALLL day?

Defense?

Come on, we have a burgeoning A1, an exciting young wing that could take the next step in Jaden, and one of the best defensive players of his generation. Kat is improving, and we just need to hide Dlo.

Dlo can be Dlo
KAT can be KAT
A1 is comin
Jaden excites me
Gobert can be Gobert

In TC we trust....

P.S.
Rosas, you didn't know how to act, but you sure as hell knew how to acquire talent. Thanks for giving us the ammo that got us to this point.

LETS GO

Oh, and Hi Lip, Abe, Monster, Q, and Cool....shout out to the ESPN OG's

Awesome post! Good to hear from you WallyWorld!!!!

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

It's becoming more apparent to me that people just haven't watched enough of Rudy Gobert.

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

It's becoming more apparent to me that people just haven't watched enough of Rudy Gobert.

Well Camden, Vegas moved us all the way up to the 12th best odds to win the title next year. They're the ones who get paid to be right and their predictions don't include emotion or "homerism" either. I'm sure glad we mortgaged our future to move up to 12th! What were we, 14th before? Lol. But hey, maybe their experts just haven't watched gobert enough :)

[Lipoli390]

Long time Lurker...back to the ESPN board days, first time poster.

When I first saw the Gobert trade, my jaw dropped. That many picks! But the more I think about this, I'm fully on board. Name a section at the target center after TC already! Ok, getting a bit a head of our selves.

If this trade works out like it could, we could be dynamite for several years, maybe not Golden State big show, but is it now times for the t-pups era? Lets see how the c-suite rounds out the rest of the squad.

Instead of thinking about this from a common trend of other teams standpoint, why not try to break the mold with the talent we have.

Scoring, creating plays on the team from last year:
ANT = 1A
KAT = 1B
DLO = 2

When this worked, it really really worked. Rarely did it work though.

So how do we optimize that team?

Gobert!

Towns can now be Towns, a 7 foot shooting guard who can drop bombs as a 3 level scorer on offense with out expending all of the energy on defense guarding the other teams big. He acts like a shooting guard, not a center, why make him guard centers? Put him on the undersized PF where he be so so at defense.

Dlo is the true SloMo, he truly doesn't have any break-by-you speed, he slow, methodical, and when he is on, he can throw rainbow's down from anywhere on the floor. How do you give him more space to operate? Give him a big center that sets excellent picks/screens, has good hands, and is great at running to the rim, now defenders need to account for this.

Ant: he doesn't need anyone else, he needs to grow, he is our future. But, Gobert around him? Lets start with Goberts reported fire for the game, that will suit Ant real well, he has it too, they both just want to win. When Ant drives and the entire team sells out and clogs the front side of the lane on A1? Backside Alley anyone, Gobert lobs ALLL day?

Defense?

Come on, we have a burgeoning A1, an exciting young wing that could take the next step in Jaden, and one of the best defensive players of his generation. Kat is improving, and we just need to hide Dlo.

Dlo can be Dlo
KAT can be KAT
A1 is comin
Jaden excites me
Gobert can be Gobert

In TC we trust....

P.S.
Rosas, you didn't know how to act, but you sure as hell knew how to acquire talent. Thanks for giving us the ammo that got us to this point.

LETS GO

Oh, and Hi Lip, Abe, Monster, Q, and Cool....shout out to the ESPN OG's

Great post, Wally. I love really smart, thoughtful posts on the other side of an issue. I've already had some fun and enlightening exchanges with Q and Cam on this issue. It's what makes this board informative and fun. Please post more often!

[Perfectdraft [enjin:19652658]]

Sounds like many believe he will remain healthy and highly athletic over the next 4 years. I hope comes true. I will continue to root for it, despite feeling its very unlikely.

Have a great summer all...

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Sounds like many believe he will remain healthy and highly athletic over the next 4 years. I hope comes true. I will continue to root for it, despite feeling its very unlikely.

Have a great summer all...

Rudy Gobert is an exceptionally instinctive player with nearly unmatched length and a great understanding of his individual role. Being an above average NBA athlete has certainly helped his game, but it's not what has made him a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and named to multiple All-NBA teams.

Durability isn't guaranteed for any player, and athleticism fades over time, but Gobert's game could age more gracefully than we expect.

[Q-is-here]

Sounds like many believe he will remain healthy and highly athletic over the next 4 years. I hope comes true. I will continue to root for it, despite feeling its very unlikely.

Have a great summer all...

Age of key bigs on recent Championship teams:

2022 - Draymond Green - 32
2021 - Brook Lopez - 33
2020 - Dwight Howard - 34
2019 - Marc Gasol - 34

Dirk was 32 when he won a title as Dallas' best player. Do you want me to go back to the Showtime Laker titles and their big man, Kareem Abdul Jabbar? He won his first title with the Lakers at age 33 and was only getting started!

In fact, the more I look at the data, the more I think it's almost a requirement that you have at least one age 30+ vet big man in the rotation!

Rudy Gobert will still be 30 during next year's playoffs.

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

Sounds like many believe he will remain healthy and highly athletic over the next 4 years. I hope comes true. I will continue to root for it, despite feeling its very unlikely.

Have a great summer all...

Age of key bigs on recent Championship teams:

2022 - Draymond Green - 32
2021 - Brook Lopez - 33
2020 - Dwight Howard - 34
2019 - Marc Gasol - 34

Dirk was 32 when he won a title as Dallas' best player. Do you want me to go back to the Showtime Laker titles and their big man, Kareem Abdul Jabbar? He won his first title with the Lakers at age 33 and was only getting started!

In fact, the more I look at the data, the more I think it's almost a requirement that you have at least one age 30+ vet big man in the rotation!

Rudy Gobert will still be 30 during next year's playoffs.

How many of those teams over the last 4 years gave up the equivalent of 7-8 first round picks for those guys when they were 30? I can't believe you're really going to use THOSE 4 guys as examples of why we should go All In on a 30 year old Rudy Gobert. 2020 Dwight Howard is your justification for this being a good trade? He made 2.5 mil this year for the lakers. How long did Gasol last after 2019? I think you're only weakening your argument with these comparisons... so just keep posting and I'll grab some popcorn :)

Also gobert and dirk are polar opposites as players... hope you didn't pull a muscle on that reach.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Sounds like many believe he will remain healthy and highly athletic over the next 4 years. I hope comes true. I will continue to root for it, despite feeling its very unlikely.

Have a great summer all...

Age of key bigs on recent Championship teams:

2022 - Draymond Green - 32
2021 - Brook Lopez - 33
2020 - Dwight Howard - 34
2019 - Marc Gasol - 34

Dirk was 32 when he won a title as Dallas' best player. Do you want me to go back to the Showtime Laker titles and their big man, Kareem Abdul Jabbar? He won his first title with the Lakers at age 33 and was only getting started!

In fact, the more I look at the data, the more I think it's almost a requirement that you have at least one age 30+ vet big man in the rotation!

Rudy Gobert will still be 30 during next year's playoffs.

How many of those teams over the last 4 years gave up the equivalent of 7-8 first round picks for those guys when they were 30? I can't believe you're really going to use THOSE 4 guys as examples of why we should go All In on a 30 year old Rudy Gobert. 2020 Dwight Howard is your justification for this being a good trade? He made 2.5 mil this year for the lakers. How long did Gasol last after 2019? I think you're only weakening your argument with these comparisons... so just keep posting and I'll grab some popcorn :)

Also gobert and dirk are polar opposites as players... hope you didn't pull a muscle on that reach.

I think you missed Q's point here. I don't think he's using those examples as to why Minnesota was right to give up what they did for Rudy Gobert. On the contrary, he's illustrating that recent championship teams relied on bigs that were past their primes but still effective overall, which is what we expect Gobert to be at the later stages of his current contract. Rather, at age 33-34 Gobert could very well still be an effective big on a good Timberwolves team.

Personally, I think Gobert's game will age relatively well in this league -- perhaps similar to how Dikembe Mutombo's did, or even Tyus Chandler on a lesser level.

[Q-is-here]

Sounds like many believe he will remain healthy and highly athletic over the next 4 years. I hope comes true. I will continue to root for it, despite feeling its very unlikely.

Have a great summer all...

Age of key bigs on recent Championship teams:

2022 - Draymond Green - 32
2021 - Brook Lopez - 33
2020 - Dwight Howard - 34
2019 - Marc Gasol - 34

Dirk was 32 when he won a title as Dallas' best player. Do you want me to go back to the Showtime Laker titles and their big man, Kareem Abdul Jabbar? He won his first title with the Lakers at age 33 and was only getting started!

In fact, the more I look at the data, the more I think it's almost a requirement that you have at least one age 30+ vet big man in the rotation!

Rudy Gobert will still be 30 during next year's playoffs.

How many of those teams over the last 4 years gave up the equivalent of 7-8 first round picks for those guys when they were 30? I can't believe you're really going to use THOSE 4 guys as examples of why we should go All In on a 30 year old Rudy Gobert. 2020 Dwight Howard is your justification for this being a good trade? He made 2.5 mil this year for the lakers. How long did Gasol last after 2019? I think you're only weakening your argument with these comparisons... so just keep posting and I'll grab some popcorn :)

Also gobert and dirk are polar opposites as players... hope you didn't pull a muscle on that reach.

As Cam said, that wasn't my point D-Loser. I was responding to Perfectdraft's concern about Gobert's age and potential declining athleticism and injury concerns. Obviously the last four winners of the NBA title had to rely on bigs older than Gobert is now by multiple years. And I think Gobert is better than all four of them, including Draymond Green.

But I think you were playing dumb, as you are wont to do, just so that you could natter on about what a bad trade it was.