The Minnesota Timberwolves will have their entire season on the line tomorrow in the final play-in game, where they hope to beat the upstart OKC Thunder and clinch the 8th seed.
This isn’t what the team wanted after trading the entire franchise’s future for Rudy Gobert, a player who has had a tough debut season. Gilbert Arenas slammed the trade once again, criticizing the impact it had on Anthony Edwards‘ development.
“I thought I called that sh*t trade last year, you traded all your pieces for Rudy Gobert… It was a bad trade because you had rim drivers, you messed up the game for a player like Anthony [Edwards]. You have someone down there trying to post up and clogging up the lane. When he decides to go, you take away that ability because he can’t dump it off to you. You can’t f***ing hit a basket if you were right there under the basket.”
"I thought I called that [Timberwolves/Jazz trade] 'sh**' last year… It was a bad trade because you had rim-drivers, you messed up the game for a player like Anthony [Edwards]."
—Gilbert Arenas
(via @GilsArena)pic.twitter.com/TduDKgQJyi
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 13, 2023
Edwards has definitely been impacted by the lack of space around the rim with not only Gobert but also Karl-Anthony Towns. Despite that, his drive stats and rim-finishing numbers are higher this season.
Ant averaged 10.8 drives a game and attempted 5.0 shots per game, converting half of them last season. Those numbers are up in 22-23, with Ant now averaging 12.3 drives on 6.7 attempts, converting 52.3%.
Anthony Edwards Not Thriving In Minnesota?
Anthony Edwards just made his first All-Star team this season and has taken a visible leap forward. Even if Gilbert Arenas thinks the Gobert trade is restricting Edwards, it’s forced him to round out his game and be a threat for almost every zone on the court. He’s coming off one of the worst performances of the season in their play-in loss to the Lakers but will be rearing to bounce back.
The 21-year-old averaged 24.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 79 games this season. His durability is a great sign, and his continued development means the Wolves may give him the keys to the franchise soon. Getting a second consecutive playoff appearance under his belt will greatly accelerate that process.
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