Could Mavs Pair Rudy Gobert with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving? How Trade Could Work
With the NBA playoffs getting underway this weekend, the Dallas Mavericks are forced to watch from their couches after being nearly one full year removed from a Western Conference Finals appearance.
GM Nico Harrison sympathized with the Mavs' fan base, calling his team's 38-44 record "unacceptable" while also noting that defense and rebounding are the biggest offseason needs. The only problem is, that's essentially what Harrison said last year too, as the Mavs tried to address those issues by trading for Christian Wood and signing JaVale McGee in free agency. Unfortunately for Dallas, both of those experiments flopped, and now it's back to the drawing board.
When surveying the NBA landscape, there are only a handful of potential moves the Mavs could realistically make to address both of their biggest needs at the same time. Trading for Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert this summer might be one of those moves.
Although Luka Doncic and Gobert have had some feisty clashes on the court – both in the NBA and in international play – both players respect each other's game, and they'd make for an excellent fit playing together.
When the Timberwolves traded Malik Beasley, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, four first-round picks and one first-round pick swap for Gobert last summer, they didn't expect to be playing in the play-in tournament in order to secure the No. 8 seed. They also didn't expect to having to suspend Gobert for a play-in game due to him throwing a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during a huddle after unpleasant words were exchanged.
Long story short, the Timberwolves expected Gobert to be the savior in Minnesota, but that just hasn't materialized. The results from that trade have been underwhelming considering what Minnesota had to give up to get him.
Overall, maybe Gobert just isn't the right fit for the Timberwolves – at least in terms of turning them into a championship-level team. And given that Gobert is set to make an average of $44 million over the next three seasons, perhaps Minnesota will look to cut its losses and move in a different direction. If that's the case, here's the trade scenario that would make sense for the Mavs around draft night.
Mavericks receive: Rudy Gobert
Timberwolves receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, 2027 first-round pick
Gobert might be severely overpaid in some people's eyes, but there's no doubt he'd be the best center the Mavs have put on the court since Tyson Chandler in the 2010-11 and 2014-15 seasons. In 70 regular-season games this year, Gobert averaged 13.4 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 65.9 percent from the field. He is also an excellent screener who would excel alongside both Doncic and Kyrie Irving in pick-and-roll situations.
The Mavs still have work to do even if they pull off a trade for Gobert, as Irving is an unrestricted free agent. Some NBA insiders believe the Mavs are the favorites to re-sign Irving, but as Dallas has found out many times over the years, none of that speculation matters until pen meets paper.
If everything in this particular scenario falls into place, though, a Mavs' Big 3 of Doncic, Irving and Gobert could really make some noise in the West next season and get Dallas back to where it needs to be as a bonafide playoff team. There will surely be some pushback on this idea due to Gobert's offensive limitations, but he is the type of center Doncic can co-exist with best.
It's been a long time since the Mavs have had a physical big man that has no issues grabbing rebounds and blocking shots. It's time to for Dallas to find that type of player again.
Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter @dalton_trigg.
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