The Minnesota Timberwolves have taken some big swings during Tim Connelly’s tenure as president of basketball operations, but few were as impactful as the trade that acquired Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz.
The Wolves may have few regrets over the trade, as Gobert has been a key cog for a team that advanced to the Western Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons and advanced out of the first round in three of the four seasons since his arrival. However, the Jazz may have finally reaped their reward after a sign-and-trade with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Jazz will receive unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 as well as two first-round pick swaps in exchange for Kessler, who will sign a four-year, $130 million deal with Los Angeles as part of the transaction.
While Gobert continues to make an impact for Minnesota, the Jazz may have found a way to get the last laugh and it could swing the blockbuster trade in their favor.
Timberwolves’ trade for Rudy Gobert gets another wrinkle after Walker Kessler trade
The original 2022 trade between the Timberwolves and Jazz saw the Wolves give up Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Jarred Vanderbilt and Walker Kessler, along with unprotected first-round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027, a 2026 first-round pick swap and a top-five protected first-round pick in 2029.
The Wolves got Gobert in return, but they would also get Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the trade because Beasley and Vanderbilt were included in the three-team D’Angelo Russell trade in 2023.
With the Wolves having their best run of success since Kevin Garnett was in town, it’s hard to argue that the Gobert trade didn’t work out. But things are starting to slowly work in the Jazz’s favor.
Beverley and Bolmaro are out of the NBA, and Beasley was indicted on federal charges for a betting scheme involving player props. Vanderbilt played just 52 games for Utah before being traded, and Kessler is a modest player, averaging 9.5 points and 9.3 rebounds in his four seasons with the Jazz.
Keyonte George is an emerging player after being selected with the Wolves’ first-round pick in 2023. With this in mind, it would have been easy to pay Kessler to try to get something out of this trade, but by getting a haul including two unprotected first-round picks, the Jazz could be loading up for something bigger.
The current collective bargaining agreement, which penalizes teams going into the first and second aprons with roster-building restrictions, has placed a premium on draft capital. While the Jazz could use that capital to acquire cheap talent, they could also package it to acquire a star player in Utah in a trade (they already moved some of their draft capital in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade).
This is important because Utah isn’t a destination for free agents, and a trade may be the only path to acquiring a star player if they don’t draft them. Should that happen, the trade looks a lot different and could finally drag Utah out of the cellar of the Western Conference.
That might not be enough to make Wolves fans believe the Gobert trade was a failure – even if they wind up trading him over the next couple of seasons.
But it’s enough to paint it in a different light. If anything, it gives the Gobert deal another wrinkle and something that should play out over the next couple of seasons.
