Late in June, it was reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves were showing interest in Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert.
It seems like the Timberwolves are still interested in Gobert and want to pair him alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, according to a recent report.
“They also continued their talks with Utah about Gobert, which have been on again and off again since before the draft,” wrote The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “The Jazz are expected to drive a hard bargain for one of the best defensive players of this generation, but the Wolves remain interested in pairing him with Towns in a super-sized frontcourt. Other bigs who could be explored include Indiana’s Myles Turner and Atlanta’s Clint Capela, though there has been very little traction between Minnesota and Atlanta over the last few weeks.”
A frontcourt featuring Gobert and Towns would be fairly interesting and pretty dominant. Given Towns’ ability to shoot from beyond the arc, the pairing could definitely work. Last season, Towns averaged 24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 41.0 percent from 3-point range.
He recently agreed to a massive extension with the Timberwolves.
Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has agreed on a four-year, $224M super max extension, his agent Jessica Holtz of @CAA_Basketball tells ESPN. Deal begins with the 2024-25 season and delivers Towns’ total contract value to six years and $295M.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022
As for Gobert, he averaged 15.6 points, 14.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game for the Jazz during the 2021-22 campaign.
Given that Gobert is a three-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, the Timberwolves would likely need to give up some important pieces in order to acquire him.
Minnesota is coming off a season in which it went 46-36 and lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. With a core of Towns and Anthony Edwards, things are definitely looking up for the Timberwolves.
