Photo by Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
By T.A. December 3, 2022
How the Utah Jazz bought an entire Franchise.
If there is one team that I can bet will never win the playoffs in the next decade, it will be “The Minnesota Timberwolves”. This shouldn’t be an astonishing take and here is the reason why: They undertook the worst trade in the history of the NBA.
Patrick Beverley is the only professional player in the history of the NBA to make a play-in win look like you just won the NBA Championship. I mean this man took off his shirt and climbed onto Score’s table at the climax of the timberwolves’ triumph over the Clippers. The NBA has never seen a team so happy about advancing to the playoffs as we saw in Minnesota after triumphing over the Clippers. To be fair, Patrick Beverley was a pest to The Clippers for the entirety of the series. In fact, Beverley nearly led the timberwolves to a winning playoff campaign against the Memphis Grizzlies which would have been a monumental upset. Beverley’s impressive playoff display last season garnered respect from media outlets and raised expectations for a dominant season from the Timberwolves.
Well, The Timberwolves showed their deepest appreciation to Beverley with a shocking trade to the Utah Jazz. Beverley was escorted to Utah Jazz alongside Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler and 5 timberwolves’ first-round picks for the years 2023,2025,2026(swap deal),2027, and 2029. The highlight of this trade was done in order to acquire a 30 year Old -Rudy Gobert.
The only reason why the Anthony Davis exodus from the Pelicans to the Lakers isn’t the worst trade in NBA history is that it actually materialized to produce a championship win in 2020( even if the Lakers might not win a ring in the next decade). No sacrifice is made without the expectations of greatness unless it’s a foolish sacrifice. The Timberwolves are a classic example of selling your future and still suffering in the present- they don’t have any emblems of a championship-winning team for the next decade.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are gradually learning that life without Beverley is not so good after all. We can say the regular season position of the Timberwolves is not the same as last season since they are struggling to maintain the tenth spot in the western conference. Although the stats speak louder volumes on the clarity of whether the Timberwolves are getting better or worse.
According to stats, Minnesota has skyrocketed down from 2nd in the least turnovers committed to the 16th position. Why should you be having so many turnovers with two big men on the team?
Minnesota has gone from 3rd place in steals (2021/2022 NBA season) to 11th place in steals. The team’s Offensive rebounds numbers have also become worse, to say the least.
The Timberwolves are showing no sign of life! The most notable improvement in the organizational structure of the timberwolves is their position in FG%. With a guy like Beverley, it would have been just the same- if not better.
“Patrick Beverley is a Basketball Psychiatrist to teams,” said Devin Booker. Patrick Beverley is literally in the NBA because he has earned himself the prestige of being a pest to opponents on the offensive end of the court. Beverley also served a Veteran leadership role to his teammates at Minnesota.
“Maybe I can do a better job of teaching him to take care of his body,” Timberwolves star Karl Anthony Towns said in publicly calling out his teammate after the timberwolves lost to the San Antonio Spurs. Towns is struggling to effectively lead the team, and this is causing a lack of chemistry among the players.
Rudy Gobert isn’t playing a terrific game either. Rudy’s primary objective of defending the basket and challenging shots taken by the opposing team is performed with alarming mediocrity. I shed tears while watching The Memphis Grizzlies -Ja Morant and Desmond Bane- dismantle through the defense of the timberwolves like it’s their birthright.
In games like these, you ask yourself, “Where on earth is Rudy?”
What’s the point of having a big man on your team, when small point guards are finding easy access into the paint?
Having two skilled big men on a team can be a great asset, especially if they are able to complement each other’s strengths. The Milwaukee Bucks, with Giannis and Lopez, provides a good example of this. In addition to their defensive dominance on the court, these players also bring a range of skills that help to create a balanced and effective team. Rudy is not a skilled ball handler, and neither is he a prolific scorer.
Rudy Gobert is, however, an all-time defensive NBA player. Minnesota however requires more than just defense. Rudy should at least provide points and maybe develop a three point shot to his game. Rudy is literally useless outside the arc.
Players like D’Angelo Russell (wild card caliber players) come up once in a while, it is obvious Russell hasn’t adapted to the consistency of being a great player. Malik Beasley (if he was kept) would have been the best shooting option for the timberwolves.
The best kind of play that may be favorable to the Timberwolves will be the Pick- and-roll developmental kind of basketball. Probably, with more time, once Towns returns back from his injury, the pick-and-roll style should be able to materialize between Towns and Gobert.
The saddest part about the Timberwolves team is that no star player will want to be traded there, at least not in the next five years.
Let’s take a look at a player like Kyrie, the chances of Kyrie going back to Boston are greater than the chances of him ever playing in Minnesota. The top teams in the west will do anything to get the top players in the league.
Rumor has it that Anthony Edwards is so fed up with the Timberwolves, he’s counting down the days he has left to become a free agent in 2024 and flee the team for greener pastures. Karl-Anthony Towns might also not be far behind, Sources say that KAT may be ready to break out of his contract at the first sign that the Timberwolves don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning a championship This team is literally doomed.
The greatest epiphany for the Timberwolves will be to fire Chris Finch and Tim Connely(the coach and the general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves respectively). Firing these two men could possibly give Minnesota a chance to compete for the NBA championship at least once in the next fifteen years – who knows the next stupid decisions these men can make in the two hours. In the NBA anything is still possible!
