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Last summer, the Minnesota Timberwolves completed a blockbuster trade, acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz in exchange for Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, four first-round picks and a pick swap.
Gobert is a solid rebounder and one of the best defensive players in the NBA. But as soon as the trade happened, plenty of basketball pundits made it known that they were not a huge fan of this move from the Timberwolves.
This season, the 30-year old big man is tallying 13.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on 67.8% shooting from the field while helping the Timberwolves stay afloat in the playoff picture with a record of 32-32.
Still, there has been much debate whether or not the price the Timberwolves paid to acquire Gobert was actually worth it. On top of this, Gobert’s fit with fellow big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who hasn’t played since November, is still very much in question.
As the acquisition of Gobert continues to be a major talking point, head coach Chris Finch now explained why the team decided to trade for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
“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
