Despite being an all-time great defender, Rudy Gobert has clear offensive deficiencies. The Minnesota Timberwolves' offense has routinely been worse with Gobert on the court. Notably, per Cleaning the Glass, their offense was 8.4 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the court last season. Gobert's poor hands and limited skill set made it easy for teams to disrespect him and, in turn, sell out on Anthony Edwards.
With LaMelo Ball in the mix, the hope is that he can unlock more out of Gobert. In my eyes, the Timberwolves have the upside to be the league's best offense, but Gobert is the swing factor in Minnesota reaching this ceiling.
To be clear: the Timberwolves can still have a high-level offense even if Gobert's impact generally stays the same. Ball, Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Jonathan Kuminga give them plenty of talent. However, if Ball can't unlock more out of Gobert as a rim runner and a general threat, then Minnesota's offensive ceiling will be capped to some degree.
Look, Gobert isn't all of a sudden going to start hitting jump shots or creating for himself. The question is: Can he become a respected lob threat that defenses account for and his teammates trust?
Rudy Gobert's role in the Timberwolves' offense is a clear swing factor
Gobert's teammates often not trusting him goes hand in hand with how defenses treat him. One could argue that opposing defenses wouldn't disrespect Gobert so much if his teammates were more open to passing him the ball. Even if you don't believe this is the case, having a player who is constantly open yet rarely involved is a major issue.
If this issue continues, opposing defenses will have a clear (and familiar) path to limiting the Timberwolves' perimeter players.
LaMelo is one of the league's best playmakers, and he's used to playing with big men in a similar mold to Gobert. We also saw how a younger version of Mike Conley helped Gobert a few years ago, and now we could see Ball take him to a different level.
Still, building chemistry and trust early on will be key. What happens if Gobert drops some catchable passes from LaMelo? Will he continue to feed him or largely abandon his involvement in the offense?
The Gobert paradox is that the Wolves need him on the court to have anything close to a competent defense. Regardless, it remains to be seen if they can truly have a great offense with him on the court.
On the bright side, there's a real chance that LaMelo could ensure that Gobert is an important part of the offense. He certainly has the playmaking and experience with similar centers needed to do so. According to Databallr, Moussa Diabate shot 8.1 percent higher with Ball on the court.
Gobert actually led the league in field goal percentage last season. The worry is about him catching the pass, but after he does, good things usually happen. By feeding Gobert easy looks around the rim, Ball can maximize the highly efficient rim-finishing aspect of his game.
With a more involved Gobert, the Timberwolves could have five legitimate threats to account for in the starting lineup. Granted, Gobert would be a different type of threat as a pure play-finisher and rim runner. He'd be a threat, nonetheless.
Trying to account for the dynamic backcourt of Ant and LaMelo will be challenging enough for defense to deal with. Then you throw in McDaniels and Kuminga, who can create for themselves or thrive as play-finishers. Ayo Dosunmu could close on any given night and is another dependable offensive threat.
If Gobert can be a heavily involved and efficient rim runner, then opposing defenses might truly have no solution against Minnesota. The flip side is that if Gobert and LaMelo don't have chemistry, or Gobert simply takes a step back at 34, the Timberwolves' offense will once again have a clear weak link for opposing teams to expose.
All in all, Gobert's involvement in the offense will be a key factor in whether the Timberwolves' offense is pretty good or elite.
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