When the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for three-time All-Star heart Rudy Gobert final summer time, some followers thought the group would change into the Western Convention’s latest true championship contender.
They imagined a frontcourt of Gobert and Karl-Anthony Cities frequently locking down opposing groups and constantly holding them to low level totals and capturing percentages.
But it surely hasn’t precisely turned out that method, and with a 22-24 file, Minnesota is in tenth place within the West and at risk of lacking the playoffs.
It prompted “NBA on TNT” persona Charles Barkley to have some harsh phrases for the Timberwolves.
“The Timberwolves made the worst commerce in NBA historical past… That was so silly that commerce.”
— Charles Barkley#RaisedByWolvespic.twitter.com/7u8GA4ogIf
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧’ 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) January 17, 2023
If the last word decide of a commerce is what a group gave up and the outcomes it has gotten within the win-loss column, the Timberwolves undoubtedly made an enormous mistake in buying and selling for Gobert.
They gave up a complete lot to get him, sending Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler, and Jarred Vanderbilt, in addition to future first-round draft picks in 2023, 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2029 to the Utah Jazz.
On the time, folks across the league have been startled on the value Gobert commanded.
Maybe it will’ve been an acceptable value for somebody like Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic, however not Gobert.
The French native is averaging 13.3 factors, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocked pictures a sport this season, which is down from 15.6 factors, 14.7 boards, and a pair of.1 blocks a sport final season.
Whereas he’s nonetheless a drive defensively and on the boards, he’s restricted offensively, and he clogs the lane, making it more durable for gamers similar to Cities and Anthony Edwards to get simple baskets within the paint.
He hasn’t even come shut to creating Minnesota the defensive juggernaut it thought it will be, because it ranks simply 14th in defensive score.
Curiously, the Jazz, who additionally jettisoned one other three-time All-Star in Donovan Mitchell, have a greater file than the Timberwolves do proper now, and maybe that tells us all we have to learn about how terribly the Gobert commerce has turned out for his new group.
