Gobert alone is borderline unplayable in crunch time against teams that switch him to death on the perimeter How are Wolves going to defend outside with him and KAT on the court together?
I remember the times when yanis was a mental midget that cant shoot and regularly chokes is playoffs and people thinking bucks were fools for going all in with jrue move paying 3 FRPs for him...the rest is history....
They did that in the context of the Utah Jazz being terrible defensively everywhere else but Gobert, especially the lack of wing depth. The Wolves have Jaden McDaniels and signed Kyle Anderson for the perimeter defense/wing depth. Also Anthony Edwards improved his defense from his rookie year and maybe keeps improving. KAT isn't a zero on defense either, he's just not a defensive anchor. I don't think the Wolves are contenders by any stretch, but I think Gobert makes them better. It's just baffling how the Wolves didn't put any protections on their picks. Like any gamble, it could certainly blow up in the Wolves face, but it could also make the Wolves a second round playoff team for the foreseeable future.
The deal just looks worse and worse the more I think about it. I'm dying to know who they were bidding against and what they offered.
After thinking about the past couple days, I think Minnesota really screwed up not going for Murray. Murray's not a superstar, but he cost much less than Gobert did and I think Murray would have fit the Timberwolves much better. They'd have to find a way to cut bait on D'Angelo Russell, but a Murray/Edwards backcourt would have been tremendous, Murray at least provides a good perimeter defender to allow Edwards to hide on the weaker opposing guard and another perimeter player fits with Towns much better than Gobert does. Murray isn't even a real volume scorer--in fact, he's stretched efficiency-wise as a volume scorer, so he doesn't cut
That Holiday trade was also considered an overpay that can backfire by many, but it was also a reasonable bet. No matter what the perception of Giannis was, 1) The bucks were unquestionably a strong contender already, No#1 seed in the east for two-years in a row. Further improvement gives a sizable boost to their title chance. 2) Giannis was the league MVP, and they were in the cross-road of all or nothing, convincing him to sign an extension or risk losing him in free agency. 3) Holiday was a good fit to the bucks, at a position of need, bring two-way plays, and on a more reasonable/less risky contract. The same cannot be said about the wolves.
Very true, and I believe this was post Brogdon and also after it was clear Bledsoe was not the answer. I don't see how Gobert moves the needle for this team. I think an upgrade at point was/is way more important for Minnesota.
the rockets fell apart after Clint capella bolted. Even with harden. Clint capella has never been as good as gobert.
Not putting protections on those picks is reckless, for a player like Gobert its downright criminal. I can't believe that no matter how many times teams get burned on trading away future unprotected draft capital, these types of franchise-killing deals still get done. Its very plausible that Gobert fails to raise this team significantly, Russell leaves next year and is not replaced and KAT demands a trade shortly thereafter. Or some other implosion scenario. At least its Utah, who will forever be denied the title because, well, they are the Jazz.
no 2 things in the universe are the same...however there are lot uncanny resemblances between these 2.... OTH some aspects of the jazz minny trade are more positive than bucks pels deal... back then yanis was considered a proven playoff choker that CANT SHOOT which is a big BIG unforgetable sin in todays NBA... and he lost in the 1st round and the only game his team won was when he werent playing....lololol gobert is also a better/more impactful player than holiday who was also on the max contract....minny made a better deal than the bucks the only reason you look more favorably at the bucks deal is because the hindsight and knowing in retrospect the gamble paid....
I could be wrong but I think the wolves will get hac this year. That team is scary. And in the playoffs I gained a huge amount of respect for kat and his matchup issues. If it was a matter of a choice between kat and embid I’d take kat so fast it wouldn’t be funny. The guy has huge potential and with edwards in tow they are going to be a problem.
Kat is a more versatile player, he is younger, and he is a better basketball iq and he passes better. Embid is an injury risk and a traditional big that can’t hit the 3 and has been bounced in the playoffs by all of the big eastern conference teams. Embid looks like he’s playing in mud half the time.
Towns can’t even hold his own against Capela Embiid has literally shot 37% from 3 on 3 attempts a game the last 2 years Embiid is not a traditional big Embiid is the B2B MVP runner up stop it with these casual fan takes, they’re embarrassing
Well, I don't disagree there are resemblances. TBH, I did think the bucks made a bad/reckless gamble at the time, but I wouldn't dare to call it anything like "the worst deal of the decade", because it might blow right in your face if they win it all and the possibility was real. Am I scared this Minny team, with two max contract tied to the center position, is going to win it all? LOL... If anything, the trade ruined their odds. See the difference? Minny absolutely did not make a better deal than the bucks. By the way, that year, the bucks lost to a talented Heat team in the 2nd round that made it to the Finals. The year before they were in the ECF. Jrue was not on the max contract, either. Many stars were labeled a "proven chocker" until they are not. That's just meaningless talking points. #1 Seeds and MVP awards were facts.