The Minnesota Timberwolves had a successful 2021-22 season, winning 46 games and almost making it to the second round of the playoffs if not for their collective inability to protect leads. But this success is proving to be both a blessing and a curse for the Timberwolves, as they felt like they were in a position to swing for the fences and trade away an eye-popping amount of assets for Rudy Gobert. In a league trending towards small-ball or skilled size, acquiring Gobert meant that the Timberwolves were swimming against the tide.
However, there's a reason why it's so hard to swim against the tide — or why it's foolish to even try in the first place. The fit between Gobert and incumbent star center Karl-Anthony Towns was never seamless, and from day one, it seemed like head coach Chris Finch would have to go through hoops just to make sense of that oddball pairing.
The Timberwolves failed to make the requisite leap into contention that the front office certainly hoped they would when they acquired Rudy Gobert. Even with Anthony Edwards' emergence into a bonafide All-Star, the Timberwolves finished with a worse record than last year, and they ended up bowing out of the playoffs in five games to the first-seeded Denver Nuggets.
Sure, Karl-Anthony Towns' extended injury absence prevented the Timberwolves from truly working out the kinks of their twin-tower setup. However, the Timberwolves could soon have buyer's remorse nonetheless from the Gobert trade, given how the Stifle Tower's production isn't necessarily proportional to the price they paid for his services.
Thus, if the Timberwolves decide to pull the plug on the Rudy Gobert experiment, here are two teams that should pounce on the opportunity of acquiring the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Atlanta Hawks
There's nothing quite a head coach and player connection to fuel trade rumors. But in this case, the Hawks make sense as a potential landing spot for Rudy Gobert beyond his previous success working with Quin Snyder.
As well as the starter and backup duo of Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu has performed for the Hawks, their defensive impact, particularly at the rim, still pales in comparison to that of the Timberwolves center. Gobert is a defensive system onto himself, and for a team that ranked 22nd in defensive rating during the 2022-23 regular season, the Stifle Tower stands out as a huge upgrade.
The Hawks badly need someone who can clean up a lot of messes defensively, given Trae Young's shortcomings on that end of the floor. During the Hawks' first-round series against the Boston Celtics, Young found himself in no man's land on defense on many occasions. Gobert helps compensate for that.
Of course, the question about Rudy Gobert has always been his playoff viability. But the Hawks aren't yet in a position to be worrying about that. What they will need is to put up a strong regular season effort, and Gobert allows the Hawks to do that on a more consistent basis.
If anything, the Hawks may be looking to transition the center spot to Onyeka Okongwu, someone with more perimeter mobility. But with the Hawks out a few first-round picks due to the Dejounte Murray trade, they are looking to win now, and a trade for Gobert helps them achieve that.
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are arguably the biggest disappointment in the NBA this season. Despite boasting the services of Luka Doncic and trading for All-Star guard Kyrie Irving in the middle of the season, the Mavs ended up missing the play-in tournament entirely. They even went as far as to rest key players in their final games just to have a better chance of keeping the first-round pick they traded away in the Kristaps Porzingis deal.
What proved to be the doom of the Mavs' season was their collective inability to secure the glass and protect the rim — two Rudy Gobert specialties.
Trading for Gobert will help the Mavs shore up their two biggest weaknesses; the French center will immediately be a huge upgrade over the likes of Dwight Powell and Christian Wood in that regard.
Of course, the problem with the Mavs is their lack of trade assets. The Mavs don't have the draft capital to entice the Timberwolves to relinquish Gobert, especially when it hasn't even been a year since their overpay to the Utah Jazz.
But given Rudy Gobert's skillset — on both ends of the floor — he is a sure bet to flourish in a perimeter-centric system led by Luka Doncic.
Follow Us
Subscribe