Utah Jazz to Trade Rudy Gobert in Blockbuster Deal

By Brian Jones

Another blockbuster NBA trade has happened. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Utah Jazz agreed to trade center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves that will pair him with All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns. The Timberwolves are sending Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverly, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, No. 22 overall pick Walker Kessler and four first-round picks to the Jazz. Utah will also acquire unprotected picks in 2023, 2025 and 2027 as well as a top-five protected pick in 2029. 

With the move, the Jazz are retooling their roster around all-star guard Donovan Mitchell. In one day, Utah has collected six first-round picks, and these moves come as Danny Ainge came in as the Jazz's CEO midseason. This past season, the Jazz posted a 49-33 record and won the Northwest division. However, the team lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. 

Gobert, 30, was selected No. 27 overall by the Jazz in the 2013 NBA Draft. In his nine seasons with the Jazz, Gobert has been selected to the All-Star Team three times, the All-NBA Team four times, the NBA All-Defensive Team six times and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award three times. This past year, Gobert led the NBA in rebounds, averaging 14.7 boards per contest. 

In an interview with Shams Charania for The Athletic and Stadium in 2020, Gobert, who was the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19, revealed his expectations for himself. "I just keep striving every day. I just want to win," Gobert said, per Desert News. "The goal is to win a championship. I know when we lost in the playoffs the last few years, every summer I was asking myself, 'What can I do better to help the team take the next step?' 

"Offensively, defensively, I just want to keep striving. I want to be a better leader. I want to be able to lead this team to better results and I feel like I'm as good as I've ever been on the court and off the court and I'm excited to see what I'm going to accomplish this year and in the coming future." Gobert teams up with Towns who is a three-time NBA All-Star and two-time member of the All-NBA Team. 

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