RealGM

I am interested in understanding if any teams could see a world in which they acquired Rudy Gobert. Rudy is obviously a polarizing player, but he is still a productive player and can impact winning especially in a big way. He has the best net rating on the Wolves team despite his offensive flaws. Rudy's contract after this year is 3 years in the low to mid 30m range. When Rudy is on the floor, the Wolves have a top 5 defense or better.

The Wolves have the Detroit FRP this year which will be in the 15-20 range. In addition, they have a couple of young players like Terrance Shannon Jr, Jaylen Clarke, Leonard Miller, and (maybe) Rob Dillingham depending on what the package would look like.

Given that Gobert's contract, with where the cap is going, isn't massive is there a team that would take on his salary if assets were included? I know a bunch of responses are going to be HAHA GOBERT, but I'm actually interested if there's a world where there could be a fit and the other assets attached could be attractive.

I don’t think Minn should trade Rudy.

But..

LAL should be very interested IMO.

Phoenix should be interested in a KD trade, unless they are doing the RealGM and recovering their own picks. If you trade Rudy/Randle/?? and end up with KD/Richards, can you transition Naz back into a center? Know it needs more than that, but that base. Though Minn should keep Rudy if they’re trading for KD*

Honestly, you could revisit Beal trades this summer if you find a happy hope for him and find something Minn would want? Rudy/KD/Booker would be really good imo

jayjaysee wrote:I don’t think Minn should trade Rudy.

But..

LAL should be very interested IMO.

Phoenix should be interested in a KD trade, unless they are doing the RealGM and recovering their own picks. If you trade Rudy/Randle/?? and end up with KD/Richards, can you transition Naz back into a center? Know it needs more than that, but that base. Though Minn should keep Rudy if they’re trading for KD*

Honestly, you could revisit Beal trades this summer if you find a happy hope for him and find something Minn would want? Rudy/KD/Booker would be really good imo

Kind of back and forward on the Rudy fit. Not sure Lakers have enough assets to trade for him then make a follow up trade to adjust the roster to maximize his fit.

kobe_vs_jordan wrote:

jayjaysee wrote:I don’t think Minn should trade Rudy.

But..

LAL should be very interested IMO.

Phoenix should be interested in a KD trade, unless they are doing the RealGM and recovering their own picks. If you trade Rudy/Randle/?? and end up with KD/Richards, can you transition Naz back into a center? Know it needs more than that, but that base. Though Minn should keep Rudy if they’re trading for KD*

Honestly, you could revisit Beal trades this summer if you find a happy hope for him and find something Minn would want? Rudy/KD/Booker would be really good imo

Kind of back and forward on the Rudy fit. Not sure Lakers have enough assets to trade for him then make a follow up trade to adjust the roster to maximize his fit.

I’ve always been higher on Rudy than almost anyone else here so knew better then to post trade ideas honestly.

I don’t know what the offer would be. Do you include Reaves or do you trade the last first and whatever else? I don’t know. And no idea what Minn would be looking for. Would they be looking for the Mark Williams package? Trying to get Reaves?

Don’t think LAL would need much building after the deal. They have the right forwards (LBJ, DFS, Rui) and they have Luka that can make any good rim runner look elite. So what would he do with Rudy?

I'd be interested, what is Minny looking for? Perhaps Houston could facilitate Durant to Minnesota, and nab Rudy.

I think a fair number of teams would be interested in, and offer value for, Gobert. I don't think they would or should give assets to "dump" him. What would Minny be looking for though? A rebuilding package? A different set of win-now guys?

Hawks could put together an interesting package around Okongwu + Risacher

LarsV8 wrote:I'd be interested, what is Minny looking for? Perhaps Houston could facilitate Durant to Minnesota, and nab Rudy.

I feel like if you're Minnesota the appeal of getting KD decreases a lot if you're sending Rudy out as part of the deal.

Contracts have gotten so out of hand recently that $35 M, $36.5 M, $38 M for Gobert really is not that bad.

Phoenix and NOLA would be my first calls.

Hmm...clearly positive, right? Last year he was DPOY and great in the post-season. This season, it seems after a quick check that his impact has still been clearly positive. Randle isn't a great fit and the Timberwolves seem to have had quite a few injuries to key guys missing time but they are still in the Top 6 hunt out West.

In Conclusion, a Top 10 Center is going to have good value around the league. He has anchored Top Tier defenses for Utah and then again re-constructed the entire identity of the Timberwolves along with Anthony Edwards.

I'd question why Minnesota would want to move off Gobert. If Naz is the long-term Power Forward, then his fit with Gobert is seamless, both on paper and in actual play we have seen.

The back problems, 2023 and then 2025, are worrisome, but could this year's problems be linked to a long NBA season (Close to 100 games in 2024) followed by a long Olympic season (even if not playing he was practicing regularly) then a new 2025 NBA season? Possibly, but I am not an arm chair doctor.

jayjaysee wrote:

kobe_vs_jordan wrote:

jayjaysee wrote:I don’t think Minn should trade Rudy.

But..

LAL should be very interested IMO.

Phoenix should be interested in a KD trade, unless they are doing the RealGM and recovering their own picks. If you trade Rudy/Randle/?? and end up with KD/Richards, can you transition Naz back into a center? Know it needs more than that, but that base. Though Minn should keep Rudy if they’re trading for KD*

Honestly, you could revisit Beal trades this summer if you find a happy hope for him and find something Minn would want? Rudy/KD/Booker would be really good imo

Kind of back and forward on the Rudy fit. Not sure Lakers have enough assets to trade for him then make a follow up trade to adjust the roster to maximize his fit.

I’ve always been higher on Rudy than almost anyone else here so knew better then to post trade ideas honestly.

I don’t know what the offer would be. Do you include Reaves or do you trade the last first and whatever else? I don’t know. And no idea what Minn would be looking for. Would they be looking for the Mark Williams package? Trying to get Reaves?

Don’t think LAL would need much building after the deal. They have the right forwards (LBJ, DFS, Rui) and they have Luka that can make any good rim runner look elite. So what would he do with Rudy?

I don't think it would have to be a Mark Williams package. I think it could mostly be salary cap relief. Ideally, it's a decent prospect in return. But for example, if you told me you'd give Reaves and salary for Gobert and the Detroit first that we have this year (to give LA a chance at a rookie contract rotation player), the Timberwolves would for sure do that.

We have to get out of the second apron, and really what that means is either trading Gobert or Randle. Fans on our board would probably be split on which player they would want to keep. It's really a choice of what type of identity do we want to have. Rudy has been injured and we've been playing a lot like the Lakers have with lots of ball handlers and shooting and switching -- I personally like this style of play.

I do think Rudy would be a great fit on the Lakers because he's a walking one man top 5 defense and there's no better ball handling combo then Lebron/Luka to make the most out of Rudy offensively.

gswhoops wrote:

LarsV8 wrote:I'd be interested, what is Minny looking for? Perhaps Houston could facilitate Durant to Minnesota, and nab Rudy.

I feel like if you're Minnesota the appeal of getting KD decreases a lot if you're sending Rudy out as part of the deal.

I don't think so. I think there is a lot of potential interest in Minnesota leaning into Jaden McDaniels as more of a big as well as Naz. I think we'd have to add a 20 min rotation backup true center, but that can be done and found.

I think the main goal of the Wolves is to (1) get out of the second apron (2) retain Naz Reid and ideally NAW if possible (3) keep McDaniels as part of the long term core. Both players need pay raises so realistically you have to lose Gobert or Randle. Technically, the Wolves probably can just roll with Randle if he opts in but we likely lose Naw... which is fine given some of the guard/wing prospects we have that need bigger roles (Rob, Shannon, Clark).

I actually think to get KD we would need to trade Randle/Gobert and then likely attach something like the Detroit pick and Shannon Jr to make salaries work and give Phoenix both some win now players but also some futures. The only other way would be to add McDaniels which they really don't want to do.

gswhoops wrote:I think a fair number of teams would be interested in, and offer value for, Gobert. I don't think they would or should give assets to "dump" him. What would Minny be looking for though? A rebuilding package? A different set of win-now guys?

Hawks could put together an interesting package around Okongwu + Risacher

T-Wolves would be foolish to trade Rudy and leave themselves without serious rim protection. They would be the next Phoenix situation. Personally I think they would be foolish to trade Rudy, period, I'd rather trade Ant. But, if they do, this is the first offer that makes sense to me. OO gives you some rim protection and bet on Risacher's athleticism to make up some of the difference.

gswhoops wrote:I think a fair number of teams would be interested in, and offer value for, Gobert. I don't think they would or should give assets to "dump" him. What would Minny be looking for though? A rebuilding package? A different set of win-now guys?

Hawks could put together an interesting package around Okongwu + Risacher

I would be very interested in that. For Gobert specifically, I think in an ideal world we get a solid true C who is more of like a 15-25mpg per game player and good in that backup C role and any kind of futures that can space the floor. We also want to try to get under the second apron. I would say what Minnesota needs, especially in a world without Gobert is:

-20mpg true C who can play drop, protect the rim, and attack as a roller/dunker in PnR
-20-25mpg PG who can replace Conley and potentially play more until Rob is ready
-Continue to stockpile 3+D wings

In that vein Okongwu and Risacher interest me. Again, I think Rudy is a good player but I kind of think the Wolves are trying to lean into the timeline of Ant, Jaden, Naz, Shannon, Rob, NAW and that lineup plays differently than a Gobert based lineup.

penbeast0 wrote:

gswhoops wrote:I think a fair number of teams would be interested in, and offer value for, Gobert. I don't think they would or should give assets to "dump" him. What would Minny be looking for though? A rebuilding package? A different set of win-now guys?

Hawks could put together an interesting package around Okongwu + Risacher

T-Wolves would be foolish to trade Rudy and leave themselves without serious rim protection. They would be the next Phoenix situation. Personally I think they would be foolish to trade Rudy, period, I'd rather trade Ant. But, if they do, this is the first offer that makes sense to me. OO gives you some rim protection and bet on Risacher's athleticism to make up some of the difference.

Jaden McDaniels actually is a very strong rim defender. I agree that we would have to add a rim protector into our rotation and couldn't go forward without one and make serious noise.

I mean I would do Risacher/Okongwu for Rudy . We would then have Detroit's FRP and our FRP next year to try to draft our Walker Kessler.

ReggiesKnicks wrote:Hmm...clearly positive, right? Last year he was DPOY and great in the post-season. This season, it seems after a quick check that his impact has still been clearly positive. Randle isn't a great fit and the Timberwolves seem to have had quite a few injuries to key guys missing time but they are still in the Top 6 hunt out West.

In Conclusion, a Top 10 Center is going to have good value around the league. He has anchored Top Tier defenses for Utah and then again re-constructed the entire identity of the Timberwolves along with Anthony Edwards.

I'd question why Minnesota would want to move off Gobert. If Naz is the long-term Power Forward, then his fit with Gobert is seamless, both on paper and in actual play we have seen.

The back problems, 2023 and then 2025, are worrisome, but could this year's problems be linked to a long NBA season (Close to 100 games in 2024) followed by a long Olympic season (even if not playing he was practicing regularly) then a new 2025 NBA season? Possibly, but I am not an arm chair doctor.

I think the biggest challenge with the Gobert fit is that teams since Dallas in last year's playoffs are aggressively sending 2-3 players on the ball at Edwards. He is dealing with that type of coverage more-so than any other player in the league. Something like 85% of his drives have come with 2-3 defenders on him.

Rudy cannot punish 2 on the ball because he can't consistently be a threat as a passer or a finisher in the short roll. This is the main reason to trade him even though I totally agree that Rudy is a good player.

LarsV8 wrote:I'd be interested, what is Minny looking for? Perhaps Houston could facilitate Durant to Minnesota, and nab Rudy.

I'm down. I know in Minnesota boards we're interested in a number of Houston players as well. I think Jabari Smith Jr would be a great fit on the Wolves as an example.

jayjaysee wrote:I don’t think Minn should trade Rudy.

But..

LAL should be very interested IMO.

Phoenix should be interested in a KD trade, unless they are doing the RealGM and recovering their own picks. If you trade Rudy/Randle/?? and end up with KD/Richards, can you transition Naz back into a center? Know it needs more than that, but that base. Though Minn should keep Rudy if they’re trading for KD*

Honestly, you could revisit Beal trades this summer if you find a happy hope for him and find something Minn would want? Rudy/KD/Booker would be really good imo

Obviously, we'd be more interested in KD. I think the challenge would be to make KD or Beal's contracts work we'd have to trade both Randle and Gobert (or McDaniels but given his breakout we won't want to trade him).

So I'd say you have to do something like Gobert/Randle/Shannon JR/Detroit 1st for KD and whatever else makes sense.

Tyus
Booker
Beal
Randle
Gobert

That's a fun starting lineup.

I noticed in the GB that OP mentioned he'd prefer to trade Rudy in favor of keeping Randle.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that. I'm pretty sure it's unwrappable.

Anyway, if Minny was stupid enough to pay another team to take Gobert, then yes, teams would grab that and then run away before the crazy person woke up from their Ambien-induced sleep-walking.

I like and value Rudy Gobert a lot more than the OP. Obviously my little Mavs no longer make sense as a target with Lively, Gafford, and AD. But plenty of teams should want to add the best defender of a generation who is still really really good. And nobody should be citing Luka hunting him(get in line with guys Luka abuses) or thinking Edwards can only play 5 out. That would be an indictment on ANT and the coaches not Rudy. Plenty of more helio guys thrive with a PNR, vertical threat center.

He would be the last player I would move if I was trying to further reset my financials.

Texas Chuck wrote:I like and value Rudy Gobert a lot more than the OP. Obviously my little Mavs no longer make sense as a target with Lively, Gafford, and AD. But plenty of teams should want to add the best defender of a generation who is still really really good. And nobody should be citing Luka hunting him(get in line with guys Luka abuses) or thinking Edwards can only play 5 out. That would be an indictment on ANT and the coaches not Rudy. Plenty of more helio guys thrive with a PNR, vertical threat center.

He would be the last player I would move if I was trying to further reset my financials.

No one is saying play 5-out. We’ve just watched the difference with Naz / Jaden versus Gobert playing 2 man game against that coverage.