Timberwolves Tim Connelly knows his stuff and it shows

Timberwolves’ big trade pieces comparison in Play-In Performance

It’s easy to second-guess the strategic moves made by an NBA personnel executive, and certainly, the big roll of the dice to acquire center Rudy Gobert was a huge reward / huge risk type of move that the Minnesota Timberwolves have attempted, and failed at, in the history of the franchise.

But all of the ranting, raving, and consternations were about the performance of the players surrendered or acquired in the regular season. That

Jazz trade Outbound:
PF Jarred Vanderbilt  (1 game) – 22 mins | 0 points | 3 rebounds | 1 assists |1 steal | 1 block | (+/-) -12
SG Malik Beasley (1 game) – 14 mins | 5 points | 1 rebound | 0 assists | 0 steals | 0 blocks  | (+/-) -1
PG Patrick Beverley (2 games) – 53 mins | 3 points | 5 rebounds | 5 assists | 1 steal | 1 block | (+/-) -1, -1
Jazz trade Inbound:
C Rudy Gobert (1 game) – 33 mins | 21 points  | 10 rebounds | 2 assists | 0 steals | 0 blocks  |     z
(+/-) +19

Timberwolves winning trade so far

It was a lot of value to give up, yes. But let’s start the process of comparing apples to apples in terms of NBA Playoff production. The Timberwolves’ outbound players have not all appeared in the NBA Play-In Tournament, but for those who have, the results are not surprising. Vanderbilt, Beasley, and Beverley have combined so far for eight points and nine rebounds.

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has 21 points and 10 rebounds, far surpassing the production of all three players. After all, the goal all along has been to get to the post-season again. Now that the Timberwolves have gotten there, the comparisons are beginning to stand out. It appears as though the Minnesota Timberwolves have gotten stronger in post-season play.

But let’s not be too hasty. After all, this team did double down at the NBA Trade Deadline and shipped off one of the team’s more proficient scorers