Timberwolves' Rumored Blockbuster Trade Has Huge Jazz Implications

Just last offseason, the Utah Jazz decided to make the massive decision to trade their defensive anchor and 3x DPOY, Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. A trade that set the Jazz into a prime position for a franchise reset, while Minnesota was looking to contend for a title as soon as 2023.

Despite the Timberwolves’ aggressiveness, it didn’t result in much immediate success. In the first year of the Rudy Gobert era, their team went 42-40 en route to a gentleman’s sweep in the first round. While they did deal with some lingering injuries throughout the season, and seemingly struggled to form great chemistry in year one, this was a disappointing outcome for Minnesota nonetheless.

Now, after one year of not meeting their lofty expectations, Minnesota looks like they’re ready to make some drastic moves as soon as this offseason. According to Eric Picnus of Bleacher Report, the Timberwolves may look to trade former All-Star center, Karl Anthony-Towns sooner than some may have expected:

Some executives around the league believe the Timberwolves will trade Karl-Anthony Towns ‘in the next few weeks,’ per @EricPincus pic.twitter.com/DuP9953T3z
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 9, 2023

If you’re a Jazz fan, this should be some incredible news to hear.

With their ownership of essentially Minnesota’s entire future in terms of draft picks, anything that goes downhill for their franchise is of Utah’s benefit. A potential Towns trade would be an early sign of this bold Timberwolves’ plan crumbling before NBA fans’ eyes.

Such a big trade involving a player like Towns so soon into this “double big” experiment seems a bit...panicky. KAT only played a total of 29 regular season games this year too. It’s not like the front office has allowed this combo to truly gel together like they initially envisioned. Dealing a franchise cornerstone like KAT would look a bit desperate, and it’s hard to imagine trading him would make this team significantly improved.

There’s about...250 million dollars left remaining on Towns’ deal for the next 5 seasons. If you’re an opposing franchise, that cap number is nothing to be excited about.

It’s hard to imagine any GM across the league jumping at the opportunity to add that massive cap number to their books, especially without Towns being a ‘superstar’ quality player.

Regardless of the return, the way Minnesota is currently looking to build their roster seems a bit shaky, and that can only be a positive for the Jazz going forward. Combine a Towns trade with Gobert taking a big step back in terms of production, Mike Conley turning 36 in October, and no control of their own pick until 2029, it’s really not hard to see Anthony Edwards wanting out sooner rather than later.

The Jazz could soon have a king’s ransom when it comes to high draft picks in the coming seasons. As reported, the next few weeks will be very telling when it comes to longtime Timberwolf Karl Anthony Towns’s future in the Twin Cities.

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