So much for a slow sports week.
In the Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert trade, 'winning' the deal will be complicated
The blockbuster trade, announced last week, will have countless twists and turns. And it will likely be easier to determine of the Timberwolves lost the trade than if they won it.
July 5, 2022 at 2:55PM
In trying to strategically take time off to align with both family vacation needs and the Minnesota sports calendar, last week seemed like a good bet. It was post-NBA draft and pre-NHL draft. The Vikings are off the radar for about the only time all year, and college sports (presumably) were as well.
And then of course all heck broke loose. Kevin Fiala was traded, a likelihood that now seems like a small footnote to the week. Wes Johnson left the Twins. The Big Ten added two California teams. Plus the biggest one of all: The Wolves agreed to trade about one-third of their roster and one-half of their first-round picks for the rest of this decade for Utah center Rudy Gobert.
Patrick Reusse and I talked about all of it on Tuesday's catch-up edition of the Daily Delivery podcast.
But let's spend a little extra time talking about the massive Gobert deal, which will be back front-and-center this week when he is formally introduced to the Minnesota media and fans.
The haul, on paper, might send shivers down the spines of Minnesota fans who remember the ill-fated Herschel Walker trade. In this deal, the Wolves gave up this year's first round pick (Walker Kessler), future first-round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 as well as regular rotation players Jarred Vanderbilt, Patrick Beverley and Malik Beasley (plus little-used guard Leandro Bolmaro).
The baseline gamble by the Wolves is easy to see: They are betting that by adding Gobert (under contract for four seasons) to pair with Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, D'Angelo Russell (for now) and other role players, they will be a consistent playoff team and the draft picks owed Utah will be low-value selections late in the first round.
But the measure of whether the Wolves ultimately win or lose the trade likely will be in the eye of the beholder.
Is it enough to be an annual playoff team capable of finishing in the top-four in the Western Conference and winning once they get to the postseason? That would be an obvious upgrade from the last two decades, but is it enough? Is it only a success if the Wolves reach an NBA Finals? Win the Finals?
The other extreme is the Wolves somehow fall apart due to injuries or lack of cohesion and those draft picks turn into lottery tickets. That seems unlikely, but measuring failure seems easier than measuring success.
Along the way, there will be countless twists, turns and hot takes. Gobert will have a monster game and it will feel like the best trade ever. Or he'll miss a few games at the same time Beasley has a hot stretch and it will feel like the sky is falling.
My bottom line for now is this: The Wolves seem like they traded nine dimes for a dollar. It's a big swing, and a swap you make if you are serious about contending.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
