This summer, in one of the most scrutinized moves in NBA history, the Timberwolves traded Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, the draft rights to Walker Kessler, and four first-round picks for defensive big man Rudy Gobert.
To the credit of the doubters and skeptics, the fit hasn’t been great for Rudy and the Wolves so far, just like they predicted. But in a recent chat with Colin Cowherd on ‘The Herd,’ Minnesota head coach Chris Finch explained more behind the thinking of that polarizing trade.
“We do have a lot of different players at different points in their career. I feel that the pieces do fit together,” said Finch. “We have not really seen what we can do because of the KAT injury. We’ve played 45 games without him. We do know that there is good chemistry between KAT and Rudy. And about the Rudy trade… when your best player is Karl-Anthony Towns, you’re not gonna go small. You’re not taking him off the floor. So we thought while the rest of the league is zigging, we might zag and see if it works… Let’s try and be different.”
.@Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch on pairing Rudy Gobert and KAT:
"We thought while the rest of the league is zigging, we might zag and see if it works… Let's try and be different." pic.twitter.com/NebbFgotHO
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) March 1, 2023
The Wolves certainly shocked the world with the Rudy trade, and hearing their reasoning behind it does make sense given their situation with Towns.
But it’s hard to deny the evidence that adding Rudy may have been a big mistake. Besides Gobert’s relatively underwhelming play this season, and Towns’ absence from the lineup, the Wolves didn’t look good when even when they were whole.
And with Towns’ return still uncertain, the Timberwolves will need to find a spark quickly if they want to salvage this season.
Rival Teams Think Timberwolves Could Blow It Up This Summer
There is no doubt that Finch will do everything he can to rally the Wolves and make a postseason run. But what comes after? Unless they pull off some major upsets, the Timberwolves are likely headed home early this season, and it’s not what the fans were hoping for.
Depending on how ugly things get, it’s not unreasonable to think Minnesota may consider a complete reset around Anthony Edwards, who clearly has superstar potential.
So, regardless of how things end this season, eyes across the league will be monitoring the Timberwolves and which players may be up for grabs going forward.
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