Why Did the Timberwolves Make the Rudy Gobert Trade?

On today’s show we get into why the Minnesota Timberwolves traded such a massive haul to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gobert, as told by President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly and Head Coach Chris Finch.

So much of the discourse among the national media in the days following the Gobert trade has been about why this was an overpay by the Wolves. But Wednesday’s press conference introducing Gobert was the first time the Wolves organization could comment on why they took this path that so many people seem to disagree with.

On Wednesday, Connelly and Finch got the chance to speak on the record for the first time since the trade went down. They both detailed why they believe this makes sense for them.

Today, we’ll parse those answers in an effort to better understand the process of the Wolves’ brain trust that led them to ultimately sign off on bringing the six-time First Team All-Defense rim protector, four-time All-NBA team member, three-time All-Star, and three-time Defensive Player of the Year to Minnesota and pair him with incumbent stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.

Topics include:

— Why Connelly thought this was an expensive but reasonable price to pay

— How much of a market was there for Gobert? Did the Wolves bid against themselves?

— Why Finch believes he can make the Gobert fit not only work but thrive in Minnesota

— How Finch’s X’s and O’s explanations may signal how some players are used/impacted as a result of the trade

— Audio from Gobert himself on how he fits in with his new Timberwolves teammates

(If you can’t access the Spotify player, click here to listen to the latest episode on Spotify).

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