With the Minnesota Timberwolves going all-in on an offense-centric team with the additions of LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga, there is going to be more responsibility than ever on Rudy Gobert's plate on defense.
He'll likely have to cover for Ball on defense. Furthermore, Joan Beringer, Gobert's backup, isn't as proven as Naz Reid was last season. As such, the Timberwolves are counting on Gobert to play at a Defensive Player of the Year-level as many nights as possible. I'm truly not that worried about him being able to do that.
However, I'm worried about his offense not being an issue, especially come playoff time.
LaMelo should be able to make offense easier for Gobert
In Gobert's entire tenure in Minnesota, he hasn't had an elite playmaker on the team to be able to set up easy looks for him. Sure, Mike Conley is a good playmaker, and he had a pretty nice connection with Gobert. Still, Conley's own offensive limitations lessened his impact as a true elite playmaker, as he wasn't able to create much inside the arc.
LaMelo has been one of the NBA's best playmakers since his rookie year, and he has always thrived with lob threats. He made Moussa Diabate look elite at times last season, and his chemistry with Miles Bridges was off the charts.
If he made Diabate a threat on offense, I would bet that he'll be able to do the same with Gobert. It's not a certainty, though, especially with Gobert turning 34 this summer.
Gobert mustn't be a negative on offense -- especially in the postseason
There are a lot of reasons as to why the Wolves have hit walls in the postseason in the past few years, and Gobert's play isn't super high on the list. Nevertheless, it's something that needs to improve. When going up against elite interior defenses, like Oklahoma City and San Antonio, they would either completely bottle up or ignore Gobert on offense. Notably, he averaged just 6.7 points against the Spurs this past playoffs, and 5.1 points against the Thunder in 2025.
They knew that the Wolves didn't have the personnel to set him up with easy looks, and they certainly knew he wasn't going to succeed in creating those looks himself. Now, this should be different, and if the Wolves can successfully weaponize Gobert, that could give them a boost in breaking through the wall that has stymied them in the playoffs for the previous three seasons.
However, if Ball can't unlock Gobert and his offense remains a concern, this could cap the Wolves' ceiling and spell doom for his future with the team.
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