NBA Trade Intel On Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns

The Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to keep Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, according to NBA insider Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Gobert and Towns weren’t a good fit next to each other last season and both players are set to make over $35 million next season.

However, Krawczynski is reporting that the Timberwolves’ core of Gobert, Towns, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley and Jaden McDaniels will remain intact.

The Timberwolves went only 14-13 when Towns and Gobert played last season. KAT played in just 29 games due to a serious calf injury. The three-time All-Star finished the season with averages of 20.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 49.5% from the field, 36.6% from beyond the arc and 87.4% from the free-throw line.

In his first season with the Timberwolves, Gobert put up 13.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year shot 65.9% from the floor and 64.4% from the free-throw line.

Minnesota lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2023 playoffs in five games.

Edwards and the Timberwolves recently finalized a five-year maximum contract extension that could be worth up to $260 million. The shooting guard would have become a restricted free agent next summer if the Timberwolves didn’t sign him to an extension. Minnesota was never going to let that happen.

The Timberwolves drafted Edwards with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft. The Atlanta native is averaging 21.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the NBA.

Edwards put up a career-high 24.6 points per game last season. He made the All-Star team and helped the Timberwolves make the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Edwards is represented by Bill Duffy and WME Sports. He recently joined the agency in a move that also included plans to expand his business dealings off the court, particularly with Three Fifths Media, a production company he launched with business manager Justin Holland in 2019.