Did Minnesota Make The Right Move By Trading For Rudy Gobert?
After a crazy enough day one of free agency, the Rudy Gobert bombshell was dropped this morning. Here are my thoughts on this deal.
Wow. I know that Rudy Gobert trade rumors have been ongoing for months, but it’s still hard to imagine that the Jazz moved him. And Minnesota? I certainly didn’t expect them to get into the mix, but here we are. Here are my best attempts to unravel this trade.
The Trade
Jazz Receive: Walker Kessler – Patrick Beverley – Malik Beasley – Jarred Vanderbilt – 4 FRP (3 Unprotected)
Timberwolves Receive: Rudy Gobert
Ok…this is a lot. I get that Gobert is one of the best players in the league, but this is a haul for the Jazz. Beverley is an expiring contract, and Walker Kessler is a rookie, but this is probably the best deal you could’ve gotten if you were Utah. Three unprotected first-round picks plus a top-5 protected one in 2029? Sheesh.
On the flip side, under new management, the T-Wolves are going all in. I didn’t love the Walker Kessler selection on draft night, but maybe this trade had been in the works for weeks. Did Utah infer they would want Kessler involved in this trade? Maybe.
The Jazz had to make this move and the Timberwolves? Yeah…we’ll get into them later.
What’s Next For The Jazz?
The Utah Jazz had to do this to reignite their franchise. No matter how you look at it, they had to do this. With their lack of draft capital and cap space, a seismic move was needed to change things. While Gobert held Utah’s defense together for the past two seasons, this return couldn’t have been better;
Malik Beasley: $16.5 mill team option in 2024
Jarred Vanderbilt: $4.3 mill / $4.6 mill
Leandro Bolmaro: Team options in 2024 and 2025
Beverley: $13 mill (expiring)
Unprotected FRP’s in 2023, 2025, and 2027. Top-5 Protected FRP In 2029
All the guys Utah got have a lot of team control in the coming seasons. Walker Kessler is a foundational piece down low. And, I think I should bring this up again. The Jazz got FOUR first-rounders for Gobert! WHAT!
After this trade, what’s next for the Jazz? Will they retool for a year or continue to gun for the playoffs? They’re going to build around Donovan Mitchell, but I wonder how they’re going to go about it. I mean, this roster isn’t half bad;
Conley
Mitchell
Bogdanovic
Jarred Vanderbilt
Walker Kessler
Malik Beasley
Clarkson
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Rudy Gay
Will Danny Ainge settle for what he got in this deal? Maybe. But I could see Utah making more moves after this. Are Conley, Bogdanovic, and Clarkson all safe? If the Jazz want to go all-in, perhaps not. We could also see Utah go after a veteran center. They don’t have much size other than Kessler.
At the end of the day, we can only speculate on what the Jazz will do next. But, at the moment, it’s hard not to love the return they got for Gobert. That was the hardest part of trying to retool this roster. Will Hardy’s new roster got a definite upgrade. Now, let’s see if the Jazz will do anything else in the coming days.
Was Trading For Gobert The Right Move?
Trading for Rudy Gobert isn’t the wrong move for Minnesota. They’re a team on the rise, and these big swings lead to rings. Minnesota gets brownie points for being aggressive, at least.
Gobert is the best interior defender in the league. He greatly helps Minnesota’s defensive woes. But this is way too much for Gobert. New president Tim Connelly had a chance to get Gobert in 2013 and failed. Now? This is one of the biggest overpays we’ve seen in some time.
Minnesota’s depth isn’t screwed because of this move. Kyle Anderson will keep them afloat. But, losing three valuable players in your rotation is no easy fix. Guys like Beverley and Vanderbilt were so vital to this team last year. Finding replacements for their production won’t be easy. Keeping Jaden McDaniels is the one caveat to this move. But that’s not even the worst part. That would be the draft capital.
I always imagined Minnesota morphing into Memphis. Keeping their first-rounders and using them to supplement themselves for years to come. Instead, the T-Wolves emptied their bank account for Gobert. They’re losing four first-round picks in this deal, almost all of them being unprotected.
That is simply too much for a player that’s been unusable at times in the postseason. While Gobert is a very talented player, this is the type of deal you expected for Kevin Durant. That’s not to mention Gobert’s weird fit in his new home. I can’t say he and KAT will fit seamlessly.
This is the type of move that kills teams. The sort of move that in two years we say, ‘Gee, what were they thinking?’ For a team this fun, I hope that’s not the case.
What Are Your Thoughts On The Rudy Gobert Trade? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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