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Karl-Anthony Towns. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Timberwolves facing disaster season in final play-in game

By Sean Keane | Last updated Apr 14, 2023 4:57 PM ET

The Minnesota Timberwolves went all-in last summer. They're one game from finding themselves all out of the postseason.

Last summer, Minnesota gave up a huge package of players and picks for 30-year-old center Rudy Gobert, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year. Four first-round picks, one pick swap and five players went from Minnesota to Utah, including 2022 first-round center Walker Kessler.

At the time, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said, "We felt like we took a huge step forward with the acquisition of Rudy." But the team's record took a small step back, dropping from 46-36 to 42-40.

That's not all Gobert's fault. All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns was supposed to form a 1-2 punch in the frontcourt with Gobert, but he ended up playing only 29 games. D'Angelo Russell didn't mesh with Gobert, so Minnesota traded him for Mike Conley at the trade deadline. The team's defensive rating improved from 13th in the league to 10th, but in offensive rating, they dropped from eighth to 23rd.

What was Gobert's fault was punching teammate Kyle Anderson in the season's final game and getting suspended for the play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson involved in a HEATED altercation that included a PUNCH being thrown on the Timberwolves bench pic.twitter.com/L2g35H1u8x
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 9, 2023

Now, Minnesota has to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night to avoid ending up in the lottery. A draft lottery in which their pick would go to the Utah Jazz, just like it could in five of the next seven drafts - only the 2029 first-rounder is protected.

Gobert should help protect the rim Friday night, but historically, he's been vulnerable to smaller, faster players in the postseason. In 2021, the Clippers' small-ball lineups shredded Gobert's Utah Jazz in the second round of the playoffs.

Terance Mann caught Gobert

Catch the ending of Clippers-Jazz on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/fJCP5mgphA
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 17, 2021

Some of that was due to Gobert's over-helping after the Jazz perimeter defenders screwed up, but unfortunately for Minnesota, their best perimeter defender broke his hand punching a wall Sunday.

Oklahoma City doesn't play a traditional center for Gobert to match up again. The majority of the minutes at the pivot went to rookie forward Jaylin Williams, who shot over 40 percent from three this season. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the fastest players and best penetrators in the league, essentially Gobert's Kryptonite.

The pain of losing to a team without a center after trading so much for Gobert might be too much to bear for Minnesota fans. That pain won't go away any time soon. Gobert is signed through 2026 for over $131M. And the Timberwolves' picks are heading to the Jazz until 2029.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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