The Minnesota Timberwolves’ trade for Rudy Gobert to pair with Karl-Anthony Towns coming off an All-Star third-team season has generated plenty of intrigue. Pairing two 7-footers together in a frontcourt in today’s era is rare. Although it is reminiscent of ’80s and ’90s basketball, they’re not the only modern team to do it. Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Evan Mobley to pair with Jarrett Allen, then added 7-footer Lauri Markkanen alongside them. Despite the chaotic fit, Cleveland was surprisingly good last year and exhibited exceptional defensive prowess. The three worked together well around the other ball-handlers, especially Darius Garland.
The Toronto Raptors also took an unconventional route. They drafted Scottie Barnes, a forward, despite many experts expecting them to take a guard like Jalen Suggs to fill a team need. Barnes joined Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby in the rotation, players with similar skill sets and no real center. But the Raptors were able to make it work.
Toronto had a top-10 defense in points allowed per game and second in the league in steals per game, causing chaos across the floor with their positionless forward/big 3-4-5 of OG-Barnes-Siakam. They could hold a +1.2 net rating across their 673 minutes on the floor this past season. They allowed opponents to shoot 47.4% from the floor and 36.0% from three. League-average is 46.1% on field goals and 35.4% from three.
It isn’t always a simple adjustment to pair specific players on the court. It’s always essential to have tertiary players around them to supplant the team. That’s always what balances out the team. Each player can build upon their strengths and cover other players’ shortcomings. And the Wolves have multiple combinations they use to complement KAT and Gobert.
To begin with, having Gobert as the rim protector holds is gravity itself. Rudy has anchored top defensive teams in Utah because perimeter defenders have been able to press up on their matchup as much as possible because of Gobert’s ability to affect opponents’ shots in the paint. Therefore, if the driving player wants to kick out to a perimeter threat, the defenders are already pressed up, making their life difficult and causing turnovers.
Although Utah had no elite perimeter defenders outside their lead defender Royce O’Neale, they were still more than capable of a top defense through Gobert. Look how much Rudy’s presence on a blow-by of explosive Russell Westbrook leads to a wild pass.
Gobert’s one-man defensive prowess is an interesting wrinkle highlighting that formulating the defensive scheme around one player will let the Wolves play more positionless basketball around him, which will play into each player’s strengths and weaknesses. Finch can put everyone into a more comfortable scenario.
- Jaden McDaniels can see more reps on the team’s best offensive scorer or primary ball-handler.
- Anthony Edwards can use his raw athleticism to affect passing lanes and matchup against other athletic players.
- Chris Finch can hide D’Angelo Russell on corner players and use his length to top passes.
- And finally, Finch can hide KAT on the defensive end and focus more of his energy on the offensive side of the ball.
It is easier said than done, but the best Utah teams are a blueprint for the Wolves to follow. It becomes much more manageable, specifically the norming phase at the beginning of the season when everyone is adjusting.
On the offensive side of the ball, teams like the Golden State Warriors have mastered versatility and positionless ball, working around their star’s strengths to be an incredibly effective cohesive unit. Minnesota’s offense should become more systematic this upcoming season rather than positioned or role-oriented basketball. Karl-Anthony Towns needs to be more unleashed offensively. As a skilled shooter and scorer, he is a unicorn in this league, and Finch must play to his strengths.
D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards will get the majority of the pick-and-roll reps with Rudy Gobert, which makes a lot of sense given it’s a strength of theirs. But DLo and Ant can also be separated into catch-and-shoot roles. In the past, they both have had success in that position.
They play off each other’s game and kick-outs from players like Jordan McLaughlin or Jaylen Nowell, who can get to their spots on the floor and find others. Kyle Anderson can also fill the role as a secondary ball-handler or stick to a corner, all from the forward position.
The Wolves have a long way to go before they’ve optimized positionless basketball around KAT and Gobert, but there’s a realm of possibilities regarding the flexibility of this team. The Wolves are not only diving into the past with a Twin Towers front court, but they’re also embracing the modernization of the league and positionless basketball at the same time. It is an arduous task to handle. But with the number of assets pooled into this team, there is a pathway to continued success.
