The NBA’s punishment of the Clippers in the Kawhi Leonard investigation puts Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert trade in a strange new light.
Los Angeles was stripped of five future first-round picks after the league’s probe into Leonard and what it determined was cap circumvention. Those picks run from 2029 through 2033, a steep hit for a team that has already lived through plenty of criticism for its Leonard-era moves.
For the Timberwolves, the comparison is hard to miss. Minnesota sent an enormous package to Utah for Rudy Gobert, including unprotected future first-round picks, a future first-round pick swap, Walker Kessler - who was just selected in the first around - and players.
That haul drew immediate backlash at the time. But the Wolves at least got a player back.
That’s the point of the contrast now: the Clippers were just forced to hand over what amounts to a Rudy Gobert trade package, and they got nothing in return.
When Los Angeles brought in Leonard, it also made the massive move for Paul George, a deal that has become one of the most clowned trades in the history of basketball. The Leonard saga has only added another layer of damage, especially after the league found the Clippers had illegally supplemented his contract with a disingenuous brand deal.
The penalty is a brutal one. Five straight first-round picks gone. All for a player who never even appeared in the Western Conference finals.
Minnesota’s Gobert trade was mocked heavily when it happened, mostly because of the draft capital it cost for a defense-first center who wasn’t known as an offensive force. But Gobert has since backed up the investment. He won a fourth Defensive Player of the Year award in Minnesota and has remained one of the best defenders in NBA history.
The results have followed. With Gobert on the roster, the Wolves have made two WCF appearances. They still haven’t reached the NBA Finals, but this stretch has still been one of the most successful in franchise history.
Maybe that doesn’t settle the debate for everyone. Maybe some people still think Minnesota overpaid. But the gap between the two situations is impossible to ignore now: the Wolves paid a huge price and got a cornerstone defender, while the Clippers just lost five firsts because of Leonard.
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Timberwolves Just Made A Cap Bet On One Young Roster Holdover
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Williams is the younger holdover Minnesota chose to protect as it sorted through the back end of the roster, even if the choice came with dead money spread across the next three years. The appeal is straightforward enough for a team that values flexibility on defense: Williams gives the Wolves a more useful long-term piece than Konchar, and the front office made its bet accordingly while accepting a short-term hit to preserve that option. [Read more 🡒]