Rudy Gobert read the comments on Twitter, so he knows that Minnesota fans didn’t like him very much during his first nine NBA seasons. And he also hears Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch frequently complains about the way he sets up the screens.
Those views are likely to change.
“We’re on the same side now, so I’m excited,” Gobert said.
Minnesota, too, has good reason. The Timberwolves announced the acquisition of Gobert at a press conference in Minneapolis on Wednesday, as the transaction it agreed to make with Utah Jazz Last week could finally become official. It took four players, five first-round picks – including one made last month – and the option of swapping another pick to bring the French center to Minnesota, and the Timberwolves still feel like they do. got a better deal.
“We thought he was a perfect fit for what we did,” Finch said.
In an increasingly tasteless league where the small ball sometimes reigns, the Timberwolves now have two of the league’s best big boys on the same roster with a three-time-a-year defensive player. is Gobert playing with the All-NBA performer The town of Karl-Anthony.
“He’s not inhibiting anything we have at the moment,” said Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. “He makes it better. He reinforces what we currently have. So when we look at the fit, it’s not just about talent. It’s about the kind of team development… and he’ll make it better.”
The Utah-Minnesota transaction was made shortly after the NBA’s ban on most player transfers and signings was lifted on Wednesday.
The final deal in the Utah-Minnesota deal was: Gobert went to the Timberwolves to Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaronewly drafted permissions Walker KesslerMinnesota’s 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 first-round picks and 2026 first-round picks swap.
Jazz boss Ryan Smith said Gobert “will forever be a part of us.”
“Rudy Gobert has had a huge impact on this franchise and the entire state of Wyoming during his nine seasons with the Jazz,” Smith said. “One of the greatest defensive players in NBA history, Rudy will forever be considered one of the most important players to wear in the Jazz uniform. His love and impact on this community is beyond measure. can’t say too much.”
Jazz saw coach Quin Snyder resign last month after eight seasons and hire former San Antonio and Boston assistant Will Hardy to replace him. Then came the Gobert trade, ending an era in Utah. No team in the Western Conference has won more regular games over the past six seasons than the Jazz, but success never translates to post-season. Utah made it to the knockouts in those six years, failing to make it past the second round.
“The chances of winning are not always great,” says Gobert. “For us in Utah, that’s what happened. I think the organization felt that way. We may have crossed the threshold that we’ve had in the last couple of years. I think it still will. is a very competitive team. It just feels like with all the fortune they’ve got for me, they’d better go that way.”
Timberwolves can be the opposite. They haven’t watched the second round in nearly two decades, and are betting that Towns, Gobert, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell could become the core to change all of that.
“The goal is to win the championship,” said Gobert. “I’m here for that. I’m not here just to be a good team. I’m here to try to get this team to the final and get it done.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
