Rudy Gobert’s time in Salt Lake City is over. The Utah Jazz traded Gobert on Friday to the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of a deal that includes a ton of players and draft picks.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Minnesota is sending Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Walker Kessler, Leandro Bolmaro, Jarred Vanderbilt, and multiple first-round picks to Utah for the All-Star center.
Gobert is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and is considered one of the best defenders in the league. Pairing him with Karl-Anthony Towns creates one of the most unique frontcourts in the NBA. Whether or not it will work remains to be seen.
The Jazz, meanwhile, are clearly cashing out on their most recent run and starting fresh. Quin Snyder is out, Gobert has been traded, Royce O’Neale was traded, and Donovan Mitchell is almost certainly next. The massive influx of draft picks and young players will almost certainly mean the franchise is in full rebuild mode (or setting themselves up to be part of a Kevin Durant deal).
We’re still not entirely sure what Brian Windhorst was trying to tell us about the Jazz earlier on Friday, but it appears he was onto something.
In the meantime, the NBA world certainly offered some interesting reactions to the trade and what it might mean for both teams, not to mention Brian Windhurst.
https://twitter.com/dieter/status/1542960006592507904
[Woj]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.