Minnesota Timberwolves: How the front office change could impact a Ben Simmons trade
By Paul Langan
Last week, the Minnesota Timberwolves dismissed President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas.
With Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Sachin Gupta now overseeing the department in a sudden change in leadership, how might the change impact the Wolves’ pursuit of Philadelphia 76ers superstar Ben Simmons?
Minnesota Timberwolves: How front office change could impact Ben Simmons trade
What was Rosas’s relationship like with the Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey? As our own Ben Beecken pointed out, the Wolves former boss reported directly to More for many years in Houston.
Even though Rosas and Morey were working together in Houston for 17 years, Gupta has clear ties with the Sixers’ president of basketball operations as well and the change in leadership might help move the process of trading for Simmons.
Something that was clear about Rosas that we don’t yet know about Gupta is that the former boss was not afraid to make trades to improve the team.
Prior to the 2020 trade deadline, Rosas almost completely changed the look of the team. He acquired the likes of Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Juancho Hernangomez, and D’Angelo Russell over a span of just a couple of days.
Still, early returns suggest that Gupta will also be aggressive. Darren Wolfson of SKOR North mentioned on his radio show that Gupta has the green light to go after Simmons and he will work tirelessly to land him.
While Gupta was a big part of Rosas’s front office, he’ll undoubtedly have a different perspective than Rosas. That may lead him to try landing Simmons with some fresh ideas that Rosas felt differently about. Perhaps Gupta will be even more motivated to get a deal done as he looks to land the lead basketball ops role on a permanent basis.
As each week passes, the Sixers lose leverage and it becomes even more likely that Simmons gets moved.
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At first glance, it seemed like this sudden and unexpected change in leadership could negatively impact the Wolves’ chances to trade for Simmons, but if Gupta has the same determination as Rosas did when he was in charge, then the Wolves are very much still in the race.