The first reaction to Adrian Wojnarowski’s latest press release that the Timberwolves are trading five players and four No. 1 draft picks to Utah for center Rudy Gobert is that this franchise should be wary of doing business with Danny Ainge. .
In 2007, Ainge was leading the Boston Celtics and trying to pull that team out of a huge hole — a 24-58 record in 2006-07 that was the second-worst in franchise history.
The Timberwolves had entered their second long decline with a 32-50 record. Ainge has spoken with his friend and former teammate, Wolves basketball boss Kevin McHale, about the possibility of acquiring Kevin Garnett.
McHale gave Ainge permission to contact Garnett and find out if he would agree to a deal with Boston. “I had to convince Kevin that we could win,” Ainge said. “It took Ray Allen from us and then Kevin was all on board.”
On July 31, 2007, Ainge made the trade that lives in infamy for the Celtics and Wolves:
Garnett in Boston for Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and Ryan Gomes. There were also two opening rounds in 2009, which McHale’s replacement David Kahn turned into Jonny Flynn (an effective player in Australia later) and Wayne Ellington.
The Timberwolves went 22-60 in 2007-08 and didn’t make the playoffs for another decade. The Celtics, with the “Big Three” of Garnett, Allen and Paul Pierce, went 66-16 and won the NBA title.
Somewhere in the Target Center office, there should have been a wooden plaque with a slogan engraved on it: “Beware of the Ainge.”
The deal revealed on Friday comes from the opposite direction: Ainge, who has managed the Utah Jazz since December, receives the numbers and sends the standout player to Wolves.
What should pique those few powerful, long-time Wolves fans is that Ainge was able to acquire a lot more for Rudy Gobert than he gave up for Garnett – that is, more for good only for the good.
Timberwolves send Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro and last week’s top draft pick Walker Kessler to Utah for Gobert, a 7-1 center and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year .
And there’s a bit more for Ainge: four No. 1 draft picks (2023, 2025, 2027, 2029), as well as the possibility of returning the first rounds in 2026.
Add Kessler and add the turnaround, and that’s six first rounds new basketball president Tim Connelly gave up for 30-year-old Gobert.
Rumor has it that when Connelly made the first move to acquire Gobert, Ainge said he would bring Jaden McDaniels forward as part of the package to do so. To keep McDaniels, Wolves had to increase the draft pick bonus.
The opinion here is that veteran players sent to Utah to balance Gobert’s $38 million salary isn’t a big loss:
Beasley is just a shooter and erratic, like 90% of them are. Beverley is a determined defender, but one season of his clumsiness is enough.
Vanderbilt was an energetic contributor, but he was tight for the rebound load expected of him. A veteran replacement has already been signed for 2022-23 in Kyle Anderson.
As for the 7-foot-1 Kessler, anyone’s guess, though we won’t be able to fully explore the angle that his grandfather, the late Jay Kessler, was a terrific athlete in Redwood Falls and played basketball. for the Gophers in the early 1960s.
The skepticism over this deal is two-fold: the blow to young talent for the rest of this decade, and how will Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns play together?
Gobert is purely a postman. Exceptional defensive rebounder, great defender, but it’s unlikely the NBA has ever had an 11-point-per-game scorer bringing that comeback.
Yes, it’s a nice change when KAT comes out and shoots, but is he really going to be a power forward for 20 minutes while on the ground with Gobert?
Perhaps Wolves can find a movie to study the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1950s, when Vern Mikkelsen turned into a forward to play with all-time great center George Mikan.
Rudy Gobert is not that. So, I just had to ask Jim Petersen, former NBA big man and longtime Wolves TV analyst, how is Gobert/KAT going to work?
“Offensively, Gobert is a terrific passer, and I also found a motto last season,” he said. “It’s ‘In Finch We Trust.’ Our coach, Chris Finch, is a problem solver. He probably has it figured out already.”
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