The Kyrie Irving trade makes the Rudy Gobert deal look even worse
The Minnesota Timberwolves' trade for Rudy Gobert is a story that is still unfolding and another layer presented itself on Sunday when Kyrie Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks acquired Irving and forward Markieff Morris from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.
While Irving's off-the-court issues – which have ranged from balking over New York City's COVID-19 vaccine mandate to promoting a movie that contained antisemitic themes – may have driven down the price, it seems like a bargain compared to what the Timberwolves gave up for Gobert last summer.
By now, Timberwolves fans can almost recite the deal which saw Minnesota send five players and five first-round draft picks to the Utah Jazz in Tim Connelly's first big move as president of basketball operations.
The price triggered NBA analysts across the league and the impact of the deal has been underwhelming on the Minnesota side of things. Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt have been solid role players for Utah but the real mistake may have been trading Walker Kessler.
Kessler, who was selected by the Timberwolves with the 22nd overall pick just days before being traded to Utah, is producing at a comparable level to Gobert through his first 51 games and is doing so at a fraction of Gobert's $38.17 million salary.
Kessler also showed the Timberwolves what they are missing, putting up 20 points and 21 rebounds in a Jan. 16 victory at Target Center.
If this seems bad, it's only the beginning. The Jazz acquired the Timberwolves' first-round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029. They also have the option to swap picks in 2026. In a perfect world, those picks will be in the back half of the first round, but they also could have a damaging effect.
Go back to 2000, when the Timberwolves were penalized five first-round picks for an illegal contract agreement with Joe Smith. Although their 2003 pick was rescinded and the Timberwolves made the playoffs four times over the duration of the punishment, they weren't able to build a supporting cast in the prime of Kevin Garnett's career.
The closest Garnett came to a NBA title in Minnesota only came when Kevin McHale made aggressive moves to trade for Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell prior to the 2003-04 season.
You could argue that the Gobert trade was the same idea that Kevin McHale used to build a legitimate title contender but the difference is that Connelly didn't need to make such a deal.
The Timberwolves had only made the playoffs twice over the past 18 seasons but they had a young core that was beginning to materialize and could have gotten better with a "Big 3" of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, D'Angelo Russell along with Kessler and a young, improving player in Jaden McDaniels.
Instead, it appears the Timberwolves were fleeced when looking at what the Mavericks gave up to acquire Irving.
- Dinwiddie is the best scorer going back to Brooklyn but has never made an All-Star appearance in his nine-year career.
- Finney-Smith is a good defender who has averaged more than 10 points once in his seven-year career.
- The 2029 first-rounder is unprotected, but the Nets' front office may not be around long enough to use it.
- The second-round picks in 2027 and 2029 aren't all that valuable.
Remember that despite Irving's baggage, the Mavericks acquired an eight-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection who's currently averaging 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. At 30 years old, he's also the same age as Gobert.
There is some question of how Irving will fit in the same backcourt as another ball-dominant guard in Luka Doncic, but the Timberwolves had the same questions pairing Gobert with fellow seven-footer Karl-Anthony Towns.
None of this will help the constant trolling the Timberwolves have received since last summer despite entering Sunday's game against the Denver Nuggets as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The early returns on the deal don't look great and they could look even worse as it continues to play out.
