Getty Image / Alex Goodlett
- The Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a blockbuster trade
- The deal will send Rudy Gobert to Minnesota to play alongside Karl-Anthony Towns
- In exchange, the Jazz will receive Walker Kessler, 4 first round picks, including 3 unprotected picks
Just a couple of days into free agency, the NBA has a new contender for biggest move of the offseason. After the Dejounte Murray trade, the Kevin Durant news, and the Malcolm Brogdon trade, fans had to be thinking this offseason couldn’t get much crazier. Then the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves stepped in.
It had been believed for some time now that Rudy Gobert would be traded this offseason. What nobody could have seen coming was the massive haul the Jazz would get for him.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Timberwolves are trading Walker Kessler and 4 first round picks to the Jazz, with 3 of those picks being unprotected and the other only being top-5 protected, in exchange for the 3-time defensive player of the year.
The Jazz are landing four Minnesota first-round picks and 2022 first-round pick Walker Kessler in the deal for Rudy Gobert, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022
Minnesota is sending its 2023, 2025 and 2027 picks unprotected and a top-5 protected 2029 pick to Utah, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/fz3wxKJT0D
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022
This is a massive haul for Gobert and is one that will help the Jazz as they attempt to build around Donovan Mitchell as the star of their franchise.
The Timberwolves have now added another star to a roster that just gave the Memphis Grizzlies some trouble in the first round of the playoffs, but it’s a move that carries some risk. The Timberwolves will have to hope that Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns can coexist on the floor.
If that pairing works, then the Timberwolves may have just put themselves in contention in a very tough Western Conference.