Tim Connelly Wants Wolves To Keep Rudy Gobert 'For A Long Time'

[RealGM Wiretap]

Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly joined Darren Wolfson for an interview from the Minnesota State Fair. Connelly touched on a wide range of topics, including Wolves center Rudy Gobert.

Gobert is eligible to sign a contract extension with Minnesota. Without getting into specifics, the Wolves front office leader said he hopes Gobert is with the team for years to come.

"We’d like Rudy to be here for a long time. We love his agent, he’s been a friend for a long time and is one of the best guys in the league. And certainly our goal with most of these guys is to keep them here as long as they want to be here," Connelly said. "Ideally, I think continuity is going to be one of the better strengths we have going into the season and we really like our core group."

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gobert was reportedly dealing with a finger injury. Connelly said that the veteran center is "good to go" with NBA training camp on the horizon.

 

Via Darren Wolfson/KSTP

[Bluebeam23]

So basically they are choosing Rudy over KAT. KAT will be traded summer 2025.

[the_process]

Yep, what I infer from this is that KAT is heading to the trade block by next summer at the latest.

[shrink]

Possibly, but a 32-year old Gobert extension could be “years-not-dollars,” to save lux taxes. He has a PO for $46.6 next year, but might decline it for three guaranteed years at a smaller number. Rudy can sign an extension up until the Summer of 2025, and it might take that long to determine who owns the team, and how deep his pockets are.

To Rudy’s credit, he takes meticulous care of his health and diet, and I expect him to age much better than most bigs. He’s never had a major injury, and he played in 76 games last year, so I think it gives the front office more confidence in guaranteeing extra years.

[MitchB3]

Yep, what I infer from this is that KAT is heading to the trade block by next summer at the latest.

Next Summer? If can't starts out slow or has games where he's not engaged, he'll be gone by the deadline.

[MitchB3]

Isn't Gobert extension eligible for 3-4 years at $180-210 Million?

[the_process]

Yep, what I infer from this is that KAT is heading to the trade block by next summer at the latest.

Next Summer? If can't starts out slow or has games where he's not engaged, he'll be gone by the deadline.

[beefymajesto]

I like Kat but I think they're learning a defensive big fills a lot of holes and as nice as some of these shooting playmaking bigs are, it's tough to get away with having both on the floor. Of course Rudy seems to get abused by the best teams in the playoffs for his lack of foot speed, but on the whole he adds a lot of what you need on a consistent basis.

[beefymajesto]

As in scoring a basket within 4 feet, grabbing the boards and dissuading the easy basket on defense.