Minnesota Sports Forum

I'm unopinionated on the trade, but am going to love it in the short term. The bad and the good...

The bad...
-Wolves gave up 4 1sts (3 unprotected, 1 top 5 protected)
-Wolves gave up Kessler (1st this year)
-Pat Beverley was the heart of this team last year
-Beasley still had positive value, so was more than just a throw in
-Vanderbilt, our energizer bunny and another fan favorite gone.
-A lot of the salary cap tied up in a frontcourt in a time when backcourt is highlighted in the NBA.
-If it doesn't work out, those picks could hurt. I'm particularly concerned about the 2027 and 2029 picks (as you never know what the team looks like by then)

Now for the good...
-WE ARE IN A CHAMPIONSHIP WINDOW! Wolves are a contender for the 1st time in 20 years. Not making a bold move means probably just being a 1st round and out again and again. Sometimes you have to swing for the fences.
-The picks seem like a lot, but the Wolves core should be a playoff team for the forseeable future. A pick at/below 20 for 4 years is tolerable, especially when you consider they can, and probably will, be able to regain a pick or two along the way.
-Typically in massive trades, the team that gets the best player wins in the end. The Wolves got the best player.
-Rudy Gobert is the best defensive player in the NBA, our rebounding has been fixed instantly, our rim protection has been fixed instantly and suddenly our perimeter defense isn't quite as important (due to having a human eraser).
-Gobert is one of the best lob threats in the NBA as well
-Gobert is one of the few bigs that actually has stayed pretty healthy
-If we're trying to be a championship contender, eventually you need to take this type of swing.
-We are a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams now.
-Beasley's value to the Wolves was far lower given Ant basically takes up playing time he needed to succeed.

There are very few NBA players who move the needle all by themselves. Gobert may not be a great offensive player, but he instantly gives us one of the best defenses in the NBA. It's time to get past the trade and start imagining what this looks like, and it looks exciting. I've always been a big Gobert guy, and we HAVE seen Towns with a similar teammate in the past in Willie Cauley-Stein back at Kentucky so we've seen Towns work with a guy like that...Didn't they almost go undefeated? Guess what, Gobert is basically WCS on steroids.

I'm excited.

monsterpile wrote:Connelly was always drafting players and having to worry about trading them for value because the depth of his roster. He alleviated that problem. Lol

Does Naz Reid make more sense to this roster now with Gobert on it?

I think Naz makes more sense now due to the cleanup minutes being a better role for Naz, combined with the fact we need low cost backups to offset the massive frontcourt salaries.

Tony Jones (The Athletic - Utah Jazz):

Getting four first rounders for Gobert compensates for the lack of win now talent the Jazz are taking back. Utah badly wanted Jaden McDaniels in the deal. Minnesota badly wanted to keep him. In the end, the Wolves threw in more draft compensation.

I'm all in on this trade.

Wolves got an All NBA player, a 3x DPOY, fixes all the wolves main weakness and didn't give up their top 3 assets and top 4 players.

Also if it fails they can recoup picks by trading Kat

10 years of 20th pick in the NBA Draft:

2019 Matisse Thybulle, Washington - Boston Celtics
2018 Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech - Minnesota Timberwolves
2017 Harry Giles, Duke - Portland Trail Blazers
2016 Caris LeVert, Michigan - Indiana Pacers
2015 Delon Wright, Utah - Toronto Raptors
2014 Bruno Caboclo, Brazil - Toronto Raptors
2013 Tony Snell, New Mexico - Chicago Bulls
2012 Evan Fournier, France - Denver Nuggets
2011 Donatas Motiejunas, Lithuania - Minnesota Timberwolves
2010 James Anderson, Oklahoma State - San Antonio Spurs

Is there any 5 of those you wouldn't trade for a top tier NBA player?

I guess we knew Lore was a "go big or go home" kind of guy, and he certainly went big. The national pundits are largely panning the deal for the Wolves (I see a lot of A grades for Utah, and C's and D's for us), and I haven't fully analyzed it yet. But it's hard for me to rip a deal that instantly makes us a top 4 seed...and in the conversation for a championship. We will be starting one of the longest front lines in the history of the NBA, with two of them elite defenders and one an improving defender. It's difficult to not get excited about this deal. I hate to lose PatBev and Vando, but I wasn't that excited about Kessler and at least the first three lost picks should be in the mid to late 20s...not a big deal. Plus, we have instantly become an attractive destination for a vet guard who wants to win a championship (haven't thought of names yet). What veteran guard who wants to win wouldn't want to join a team with Gobert, KAT and Ant in the starting lineup?

My biggest concern about this team is whether DLo is going to stay, and if so, is he going to fizzle in the playoffs again. Obviously I would have preferred to see him go out and Conley come in, but I'm guessing Utah wasn't too enamored of Russell. The stats may say differently, but DLo looked best on defense last year when he had PatBev next to him allowing him to play free safety. My concern is we are going to see the DLo defense of old, and that will be a big roadblock to the kind of success this roster can have...elite rim protectors' value is limited if you have a guy opposing teams can target to get wide open threes. Maybe TC still has a way to move him and bring in a defensive-minded pass-first guard...if so, this team could make it to the finals. If not, we're going to have to cheer for Russell, and hope Finchie doesn't have to sub J-Mac in for him in the playoffs again.

In any event, this is going to be fun...

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:As usual you're wrong about DLO, but you are spot on about McDaniels being kept out. It shows a tremendous amount of optimism regarding him and I think it's great. We are going to win a lot of games and it is going to be fun to be a Wolves fan again. The only negative is the constant DLO nutsucking we are going to have to continue to read from you. We all know how you feel about him (1 million times over), can you do us a favor and impose a DLO moratorium on yourself? The board would be so much more enjoyable.

This continues to be personal for you somehow. If you don't enjoy the board because of my presence or you are triggered by my responses to other people here, simply ignore what I say or leave the board. Nobody else will call you out on it, but this type of response is entirely uncalled for and it's typical of the personality you've always been here.

Let's not make this thread about anything besides Timberwolves basketball and the acquisition of Rudy Gobert.

You are so full of bullshit. It's not me or anybody else that makes every thread about DLO, it's you. I've tried to ignore you but it becomes impossible with some of the stupid things you say. I'll do my best to ignore you, I promise. But no more leaving the board for me. There are too many great fans on here to let you ruin it for me.

Cry about it. You're far too old to be whining like a spoiled child that doesn't get their way. Enough is enough.

I respond to questions and comments that concern all matters of this franchise. I typically try to interact with everyone here instead of responding to a select few. Obviously, D'Angelo Russell is a polarizing player, especially on this board, so more discussions have concerned him. Your behavior is unacceptable. Move on already.

Nice, play the age card. Stay classy Cam. You don't have any idea how old I am.

To be fair... doesn't really matter if it's 16 or 56... things can get pretty heated and silly around here sometimes.

Camden wrote:Tony Jones (The Athletic - Utah Jazz):

Getting four first rounders for Gobert compensates for the lack of win now talent the Jazz are taking back. Utah badly wanted Jaden McDaniels in the deal. Minnesota badly wanted to keep him. In the end, the Wolves threw in more draft compensation.

I absolutely love this confirmation. Everybody wants Jaden but we were smart enough to keep him off the table

When was the last time we went into a season where we had legitimate hope to win it all? Keeping all of our #1 picks over the years never got us there. And though the price was high, we get to look forward to at least a few years of contention. That's all I could ask for.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:As usual you're wrong about DLO, but you are spot on about McDaniels being kept out. It shows a tremendous amount of optimism regarding him and I think it's great. We are going to win a lot of games and it is going to be fun to be a Wolves fan again. The only negative is the constant DLO nutsucking we are going to have to continue to read from you. We all know how you feel about him (1 million times over), can you do us a favor and impose a DLO moratorium on yourself? The board would be so much more enjoyable.

This continues to be personal for you somehow. If you don't enjoy the board because of my presence or you are triggered by my responses to other people here, simply ignore what I say or leave the board. Nobody else will call you out on it, but this type of response is entirely uncalled for and it's typical of the personality you've always been here.

Let's not make this thread about anything besides Timberwolves basketball and the acquisition of Rudy Gobert.

You are so full of bullshit. It's not me or anybody else that makes every thread about DLO, it's you. I've tried to ignore you but it becomes impossible with some of the stupid things you say. I'll do my best to ignore you, I promise. But no more leaving the board for me. There are too many great fans on here to let you ruin it for me.

Cry about it. You're far too old to be whining like a spoiled child that doesn't get their way. Enough is enough.

I respond to questions and comments that concern all matters of this franchise. I typically try to interact with everyone here instead of responding to a select few. Obviously, D'Angelo Russell is a polarizing player, especially on this board, so more discussions have concerned him. Your behavior is unacceptable. Move on already.

Nice, play the age card. Stay classy Cam. You don't have any idea how old I am.

To be fair... doesn't really matter if it's 16 or 56... things can get pretty heated and silly around here sometimes.

Kind of like when you called me the old man yelling at kids to stay off his yard.