The Minnesota Timberwolves made the NBA playoffs for the second time in five seasons in 2022, as they were a surprise team in the Western Conference. Led by Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, this is a team on the rise that is hoping to take that next step.
Looking to ensure that occurs, the front office got to work this offseason upgrading the roster. Minnesota signed multiple veterans in free agency to shore up the depth in Kyle Anderson, Austin Rivers, Bryn Forbes and Josh Elleby.
But, their biggest acquisition of the offseason was Rudy Gobert. Minnesota acquired the three-time Defensive Player of the Year from the Utah Jazz in exchange for a package that included five players, four first-round draft picks and a pick swap.
It was a steep price to pay but the Timberwolves believe that Gobert is the missing piece for their team.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
As Brian Windhorst of ESPN shared, the franchise thinks they have hit a home run pairing Gobert and Towns in the frontcourt together as they will complement each other.
“What I’m going to tell you about the Timberwolves is that they believe—they really, really believe—that this is going to be a smash hit, this pairing. They believe that Rudy is going to, you know, it’s very hard to have any kind of good defense when your center position isn’t great defensively, or good defensively, which it hasn’t been. Towns is not good defensively. … So, they think that’s been shored up.
“They love everything about Towns, obviously, just gave him a $220 million extension, but he’s not the greatest pick-and-roll player. And so, they think D’Angelo Russell playing with Gobert as a pick-and-roll partner is gonna open stuff up for him. So, they’re excited about Rudy’s effect on Russell as much as they are on Towns.”
Towns is the self-proclaimed best shooting big man in basketball and he can certainly make a strong claim to that. He is one of the best offensive big men in the NBA, capable of dominating opponents on the perimeter with his deft shooting touch or in the post with an array of moves.
However, his lack of impact defensively could hold the team back. They are under the belief that will no longer be an issue with Gobert manning the center position and Towns playing more power forward.
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Offensively, this will enable Towns to play more to his strengths also. Gobert thrives as a pick-and-roll player, which should only open things up more as opponents will have to pay attention to Gobert diving to the rim.
That is something the team is emphasizing. With the Jazz, Gobert wasn’t a big part of the offensive game plan. In Minnesota, they are planning to change that.
“Their team dinner that they had Monday night, Rudy spoke at the team dinner, you know, sort of getting to know his teammates. And one of the things that they apparently hammered away on in their first few days of camp is … they want to make sure Rudy gets taken care of offensively. Reward him for defending by taking care of him offensively. That’s been a Day 1 high bullet point thing.”
LATEST NBA NEWS: Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
There is likely a reason that the Jazz didn’t run many sets for Gobert offensively during his time in Salt Lake City, but they also didn’t have a frontcourt running mate for him the caliber of Towns. Given their different skill sets, they should be able to play off of each other well, compensating for weaknesses the other may have.
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