When the Minnesota Timberwolves were first eliminated from the playoffs nearly two weeks ago, I was on the fence about trading Rudy Gobert. However, upon some reflection, I think it's time to move on from The Stifle Tower.
Gobert is still playing at a high level and is unquestionably still one of the league's best defenders. Likewise, I want to be clear that the Wolves wouldn't have been able to replicate their playoff success without Gobert over these past three seasons.
However, Gobert has now had two subpar playoff series in a row against top-end defenses. Notably, Gobert averaged 6.7 points against the San Antonio Spurs this year and 5.8 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder last season.
With the Thunder and Spurs being the standard for Minnesota to win a title, they must consider that Gobert isn't a good matchup for these teams. Frankly, I don't think the Wolves can topple either of these teams with Gobert as their starting center, given his offensive limitations. Thus, it's time to move on from him.
Trading Gobert would be a difficult yet necessary measure for the Timberwolves to reach their ceiling
Anthony Edwards would thrive with a more offensively slanted big man. Gobert's presence allows teams to blitz Ant more on pick-and-rolls, and generally, he bogs down the Wolves' offense. Despite his defensive brilliance, it's worth noting that the Wolves' offense was 8.4 points per 100 possessions worse with Rudy on the court in the regular season.
Trading Gobert will certainly be a difficult decision for the Wolves to make, considering his arrival in 2022 helped transform the team into a legitimate playoff threat. One day, I believe that his No. 27 will hang from the Target Center rafters. Regardless, I also believe that this team has reached its ceiling with Gobert, and it's time to shake things up.
With a Julius Randle trade feeling inevitable, the Wolves would be overhauling their frontcourt by trading Gobert. Ideally, the Timberwolves would land a quality second creator alongside Anthony Edwards in one of these trades and a rim protector to replicate Gobert's defensive impact in another one of these deals.
The defensive floor that Gobert provides is undeniable, but the Wolves must search for someone with a higher offensive ceiling to compete with the Spurs and Thunder. Plus, Gobert will be 34 this summer, so this could be the last chance the Wolves have to get significant value for him.
Jarrett Allen and Nic Claxton strike me as the best options to replace Gobert. Both players are quality rim protectors who could provide more offensive juice. While guys like Kyrie Irving, Tyler Herro, and Dejounte Murray could fill the Wolves' need for perimeter creation.
There's also the possibility that the Wolves trade both players to go all-in for someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kawhi Leonard. Nevertheless, I think two separate trades for Randle and Gobert is the more likely outcome.
One way or another, the Wolves need to raise their ceiling this summer, and frankly, without trading Gobert, I'm not sure how likely this possibility is. It's unclear what avenue the Wolves will go down if and when they trade Gobert, but the more I think about it, trading him feels necessary.
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