On July 1, what started as an innocent rumor suggesting the Minnesota Timberwolves’ interest in trading for a veteran center quickly became one of the weirdest, wildest, and most worry-inducing trades in franchise history. Tim Connelly and the Wolves front office shipped off four first-round picks, a pick swap, and several players, including two of their most important defenders and culture setters, Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt. In return, they received one of the most consistently hated and underrated players in the NBA, The French Rejection himself, Rudy Gobert.
As we’ve come to expect with any news cycle involving The Gobert Report, there has been a lot of criticism of the trade and controversy surrounding its details. Detractors primarily pontificated that the Wolves got fleeced, ripped off, and or generally bamboozled due to the haul of assets they gave up. On the basketball side, many argue that the storied “Twin Towers” strategy will be ineffective in the modern NBA when many of the best teams, including the Golden State Warriors, win by playing small.
The negativity got so out of control that Bill Simmons dished out one of his hottest takes in 30 years by calling the Gobert trade the worst trade he’s seen in 30 years. What the critics don’t seem to understand is that Wolves didn’t just trade for any old second tower. They traded for The Stifle Tower. Thus, in the face of rampant negativity, let’s focus on how Minnesota’s bizarre expedition into the unknown could instead be a genius move.
How the Pairing Will Work
While the Golden State Warriors just won the championship playing small ball, the conclusion that you shouldn’t build a big team seems premature. There were several teams last year that had a lot of success playing two skilled bigs at the same time. The Memphis Grizzlies were criticized for pairing Steven Adams with Jaren Jackson Jr. before the season, then finished with the second-best record in the NBA. The Boston Celtics paired Robert Williams III with Al Horford in their frontcourt with great success on their run to the Finals.
Minnesota’s pairing of 5s could prove to be even more potent. Towns and Gobert are about as far apart on the spectrum of center playstyles as is possible, and they are both elite at their brand of basketball. KAT is the archetypal modern big. He’s a versatile offensive player who can both space the floor and overpower defenders on drives to the rim. Additionally, while he’s no Nikola Jokic, KAT is a good distributor. Towns may have had some stray voltage passes that occasionally sailed over his teammates’ heads and into the stands. But he also made countless pocket passes out of the horns set last season when he ran actions with Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell. KAT averaged 3.6 assists per game last year, but that number should go back above 4.0 now that he can make easy post dumps that will almost certainly lead to Gobert dunks.
KAT is most criticized on the defensive end, where he has taken many strides over the last several years. Still, he isn’t the elite rim protector that historically great centers usually are. Enter Gobert, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner and one of the best rim protectors the NBA has ever seen. As Zach Lowe said best on his podcast conversation with Jon Krawczynski about the trade, Gobert is a “walking top-10 defense.” To say that The Stifle Tower will improve Minnesota’s rim protection would be a massive understatement. Gobert has played nine seasons in the NBA and averaged over two blocks a game in all but his rookie season.
Additionally, if you’re big into win shares, which Krawczynski reported Timberwolves owner Marc Lore is, then you’re going to salivate over these advanced stats. Gobert currently ranks ninth on the all-time list of win shares per 48 minutes. While it’s fair to take any complicated analytics with a grain of salt, the category is led by Michael Jordan, so there is validity to its ability to measure a player’s impact on winning basketball. Gobert is fourth amongst active players in WS/48, a list that KAT currently ranks 12th on. If you have any trust in analytics, which everyone should to a degree given how many front offices use them, then the Wolves will have a ridiculously effective front court next year.
While both Gobert and KAT have their limitations like anyone, pairing them together should theoretically create synergy because they are both historically talented on opposite ends of the court. On offense, KAT’s floor spacing will force the opponent’s 4s to choose between guarding him out to the perimeter and leaving the middle open for lobs to Gobert or leaving KAT with room to shoot an open three over their head. While we know setting Towns on the perimeter to shoot isn’t the best way to utilize his many offensive skills, KAT is still the best three-point shooter on the Wolves. Instead of forcing KAT to carry heavy burdens on both ends of the court for 36+ minutes a game, you can give him breathers with low-usage minutes by having him spot up for 5-10 per game. That would allow him to conserve energy for crunch time.
Gobert can’t space the floor well on offense, but that shouldn’t be a huge issue. Last year the Wolves started Vanderbilt, who caused many of the same problems on offense as Gobert does because of his limited shooting and passing ability. While Gobert might not be as fast or switchable as Vanderbilt, he plays much more under control, has better hands for catching passes and grabbing rebounds, and is at least 4 inches and 40 pounds bigger than Vando. The Wolves will have a vertical threat that they didn’t last year because Gobert barely has to jump to dunk. Gobert may also allow the Wolves to lean further into three-point shooting because they can rely on him to box out defenders and grab misses to give teammates second chances to score.
Speaking of rebounding, remember when the Timberwolves got destroyed on the glass by Brandon Clarke and the rest of the Grizzlies squad? Remember how it ultimately ended up being a big part of why they lost the series? Apparently, Chris Finch and the front office do because the man they traded for is a rebounding machine. Last season Gobert averaged 14.7 rebounds per game and 13.5 in the two seasons prior. Gobert won’t be bullied on the glass like most of the Wolves’ roster was in the playoffs last year. Beyond the rim protection, rebounding will be a big part of raising Minnesota’s defensive floor. They will be better at stopping possessions and not letting opponents get easy putbacks.
Finally, we may be worrying about fit a little too much altogether. There are 48 minutes in every game, and you could theoretically split the game so that one of Gobert or KAT is on the floor at all times. Even if Towns can’t play the 4 as well as many suspect, Minnesota’s closing lineup doesn’t necessarily have to include both players. If Karl gets in foul trouble early, you can lean on Gobert to hold down the paint while he’s gone instead of Naz Reid, who is a great role player but not an amazing defender. If Gobert gets “run off the court” in the playoffs like everyone seems to think he will, you can still go small and end the game with KAT at the 5. Last year, Finch showed that he’s willing to bench a player if they aren’t a good fit for a particular game or matchup, regardless of the size of their contract.
Finch is a great offensive mind who has helped many phenomenal bigs improve their game, including Anthony Davis, Jokic, and KAT. He is adept at adjusting his coaching style to the talents of the players on his roster, as evidenced by last year’s scramble defenses, which highlighted the strengths of his personnel by encouraging them to cut passing lanes and play in transition. Be prepared to see brand-new offensive and defensive schemes next year that Finch has tailored to KAT and Gobert’s strengths.
