2. Rudy Gobert to the Wolves
Yes, the Wolves have made two of the worst five trades this decade, and this one could be argued as the absolute worst (I will explain later why the next is worse.) Like others, the second this was made, it was a disaster. Rudy Gobert was nowhere near the player that even James Harden in 2020 was, and yet his near-supermax contract somehow held enough appeal to the Wolves to give up everything of value besides Anthony Edwards and Towns. Franchise malpractice this was, so!
At the time, I thought Gobert’s massive salary should have been viewed as a net-neutral contract, worthy of only trading role players on expiring contracts (like Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley, who were in the deal.) Still, the idea of his defense to complement Towns’ offense, made the Wolves being willing to offer sweetening made sense. Enter Jarred Vanderbilt, newly minted first-round pick Walker Kessler, and underwhelming 2021 pick Leandro Bolmaro.
Heck, even enter one first-round pick and one or two pick swaps. But the Wolves’ entire draft picks and swaps through 2029, unprotected except the final year? Yeeeeeeesh.
I wrote after the 2022 playoffs that the Wolves would be one team that could benefit from standing pat, or taking one small step back, rather than making a win-now move. Boy was I right. Now, the Gobert contract looks like one of the worst in the league, and it can be speculated that at least three of the four draft picks Minnesota sends to Utah will be in the lottery (to say nothing of pick swaps.)
And the gutting of Minnesota’s roster (or Gobert’s personality) may be a Trojan Horse all its own, pushing Anthony Edwards to demand a trade.