Utah Jazz (22-24) @ Minnesota TimberWolves (22-22). Monday 3:00. BSN

[shrink]

I can't believe we could have what Gobert does without making that nefarious trade. Just because of how WK is revealing itself and how Gobert isn't meshing is a lost trade. Let alone if we add the picks. Madness.

Let’s slow our horses a bit here. Rudy Gobert has put up historic defensive numbers over his career.

Kessler has looked good, but I’m not going to anoint anyone as Rudy’s equal, halfway through his rookie season.

[Nick K]

I can't believe we could have what Gobert does without making that nefarious trade. Just because of how WK is revealing itself and how Gobert isn't meshing is a lost trade. Let alone if we add the picks. Madness.

Let’s slow our horses a bit here. Rudy Gobert has put up historic defensive numbers over his career.

Kessler has looked good, but I’m not going to anoint anyone as Rudy’s equal, halfway through his rookie season.

Right. I'm thinking Rudy has played as bad as he can getting used to a new system and team mates. I really don't care if Rudy scores more than 10 pts a game. I just want him to get 10-15 boards a night and protect the rim. Keep guys from driving the lane on us. He can do that.

[Klomp]

Absolutely asinine that a 7-foot-1 player would have his way on the glass against a team that for most of the game played with only one player taller than 6-foot-10.

[Worm Guts]

Absolutely asinine that a 7-foot-1 player would have his way on the glass against a team that for most of the game played with only one player taller than 6-foot-10.

Well, the issue is that the 7'1 player was, at one point, part of our team. It's looking more and more like Herschel Walker part deux.

[Klomp]

Absolutely asinine that a 7-foot-1 player would have his way on the glass against a team that for most of the game played with only one player taller than 6-foot-10.

Well, the issue is that the 7'1 player was, at one point, part of our team. It's looking more and more like Herschel Walker part deux.

No, it's really not.

Let's think about something right now....

We are 22-23. Now consider the fact that our best player has only played in 21 games.Also keep in mind the various injuries to Prince, Anderson, McLaughlin, etc. Do you think we would really be much better right now with Beasley, Beverley, Vanderbilt and Kessler than we have been with Gobert?

Your lineup in those situations is what?

[Worm Guts]

Absolutely asinine that a 7-foot-1 player would have his way on the glass against a team that for most of the game played with only one player taller than 6-foot-10.

Well, the issue is that the 7'1 player was, at one point, part of our team. It's looking more and more like Herschel Walker part deux.

No, it's really not.

Let's think about something right now....

We are 22-23. Now consider the fact that our best player has only played in 21 games.Also keep in mind the various injuries to Prince, Anderson, McLaughlin, etc. Do you think we would really be much better right now with Beasley, Beverley, Vanderbilt and Kessler than we have been with Gobert?

Your lineup in those situations is what?

I thought Rudy was supposed to be our best player? I just know we had a better winning percentage last season without giving up 4 first round picks and Walker Kessler. Injuries or not, the trade is going to be judged on the success we have with Rudy and up to now, its not nearly good enough.

[Klomp]

I just know we had a better winning percentage last season without giving up 4 first round picks and Walker Kessler. Injuries or not, the trade is going to be judged on the success we have with Rudy and up to now, its not nearly good enough.

We were 22-23 through 45 games last season.

[Worm Guts]

I just know we had a better winning percentage last season without giving up 4 first round picks and Walker Kessler. Injuries or not, the trade is going to be judged on the success we have with Rudy and up to now, its not nearly good enough.

We were 22-23 through 45 games last season.

lol. Come on Klomp, being the same isn't acceptable either.

[Klomp]

I just know we had a better winning percentage last season without giving up 4 first round picks and Walker Kessler. Injuries or not, the trade is going to be judged on the success we have with Rudy and up to now, its not nearly good enough.

We were 22-23 through 45 games last season.

lol. Come on Klomp, being the same isn't acceptable either.

I'm just trying to put into context that last year we were the perfect picture of health for the season. This year, not so much. Yet, we are currently at the same place we were a year ago.

Read on Twitter

[shrink]

I just know we had a better winning percentage last season without giving up 4 first round picks and Walker Kessler. Injuries or not, the trade is going to be judged on the success we have with Rudy and up to now, its not nearly good enough.

We were 22-23 through 45 games last season.

lol. Come on Klomp, being the same isn't acceptable either.

Take out Towns, Insert Gobert .. that should be a giant improvement?

[Klomp]

We were 22-23 through 45 games last season.

lol. Come on Klomp, being the same isn't acceptable either.

Take out Towns, Insert Gobert .. that should be a giant improvement?

That's a very simplistic view. Take out Prince. Take out McLaughlin. Take out Anderson. Take out Gobert for some games too.

We said coming into the season that this was going to be a process. That you couldn't really judge the experiment fully for at least a season and probably more. Yet here many are, throwing in the towel halfway through the season.

[Worm Guts]

We were 22-23 through 45 games last season.

lol. Come on Klomp, being the same isn't acceptable either.

Take out Towns, Insert Gobert .. that should be a giant improvement?

Towns played 21 games for us this year. Gobert played 0 for us last year. Not that they played much better when he was healthy.

[shrink]

lol. Come on Klomp, being the same isn't acceptable either.

Take out Towns, Insert Gobert .. that should be a giant improvement?

Towns played 21 games for us this year. Gobert played 0 for us last year.

We played the FIRST 21 games with Towns, and we played about .500. Is that so unreasonable? Gobert is a highly unique talent, and our guards, DLo and Ant, took some time to adapt. Heck, veteran Mike Conley said it took him a whole year to figure it out!

And in the next 21, with Gobert and no Towns, we played about .500. And as Klomp said, we had injuries to additional rotation players - vets that keep this young team’s head on straight.

Do you know how we will do when we have Gobert and Towns together in the second half of the season? I don’t.

And that’s my point. Nobody knows. Maybe we were unrealistic pre-season when we thought we’d be completely healthy, there would be no learning curve, and we’d just show up and win 55 games in the regular season. I know that thought crossed my mind. But to me, it seems ridiculous to pronounce this trade a failure this soon, when the team has faced the learning curve and massive injuries, and is still sat .500.

[Klomp]

But to me, it seems ridiculous to pronounce this trade a failure this soon, when the team has faced the learning curve and massive injuries, and is still sat .500.

ON TOP OF THAT...

We’re hovering around .500 and we are in worst-case scenario right now. This is the Timberwolves, that doesn’t happen. That in itself, I'd argue, is a significant point in FAVOR of the trade.