Go back to the 2022 offseason, and you’ll find one of the most-scrutinized NBA trades in recent memory. That is when the Timberwolves acquired center Rudy Gobert from the Jazz, where they gave up four unprotected first-round picks and a top-five protected pick (the option for a 2026 first- round pick swap will unlikely be used by Utah). That trade was supposed to gut the Timberwolves’ roster of future youth, but that isn’t the case when currently looking at it.
The Wolves have plenty of talented youth despite trade
Gobert, now 33 years old, is still a very good player, particularly on the defensive end. He’s also the third-oldest player on Minnesota’s roster behind Mike Conley and Joe Ingles, with the latter expected to receive minimal playing time. Julius Randle is the only other player in his 30s.
Looking at the Wolves’ roster, there is plenty of young talent with the potential to continue developing into quality players. They have four picks from the last three drafts that should all play a role this season (some more than others).
Terrence Shannon Jr., 25, can be an impactful player on the offensive end. He showed the world that when he was inserted into the rotation during the Western Conference finals.
Jaylen Clark, who turns 24 on October 13, was a second-round pick in 2023 but missed his first year due to injury. He shot 43.1% from three-point range (albeit on just 51 attempts) last season, and it will be interesting to see if he can keep up the sharpshooting with more volume.
Rob Dillingham, 20, didn’t play as much as expected in his rookie year. In the games he received 20+ minutes, though, he performed well. The 6-foot-1 point guard was an elite outside shooter during his one year at Kentucky.
Joan Beringer, the 17th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, turns 19 on November 6. It may be a bit unreasonable to believe he can play a huge role on a team with championship aspirations this season, as he doesn’t even have a lengthy history of playing the sport. Still, the 6-foot-11 center looks like he will be a defensive stalwart in the future, and he’ll get to learn from Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Shock value when trade occurred
Part of the reason that the trade was heavily questioned at the time is because it’s one that hadn’t been seen all that often. So there was shock value involved when the trade was announced. Teams just weren’t giving up a bunch of first-rounders for non-superstar players.
There have been recent trades that were similar in what was given up for Mikal Bridges and Desmond Bane, and it shows that teams are more willing to part with numerous picks if they believe it will help their team take the next step. The Knicks and Magic making those deals may be due in part to seeing how the Timberwolves have reached franchise-best heights with Gobert. It happened even with dealing with all those picks, and they still assured that they have a bright future ahead of them.