Rudy Gobert Remains with the Jazz for Now
Here’s what people around the league expect when it comes to the All-Star and multi-year Defensive Player of the Year:
The asking price will be steep and likely result in a prolonged negotiation that will tie up a team and hinder its ability to make other moves while trying to finish the deal with the Jazz’s Danny Ainge, a notoriously difficult negotiator.
The Bulls should be the odds-on favorite for what team Gobert is on next season, even including the Jazz.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a considerable threat to one-up the Bulls as the Timberwolves continue to look for a veteran center to pair with Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Towns-Center pairing has been a surprise in conversations, but new President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly is convinced that the best way to maximize the roster is to put Towns next to a defensive force who can protect the rim and control the glass. Towns’ elite shooting means that you can still build an offense with enough spacing in a two-big lineup, which is a rarity in the NBA and provides counters to what the Wolves will see in the playoffs.
The Wolves’ best asset is D’Angelo Russell, whom multiple sources have said has been actively shopped by Minnesota in recent weeks. Russell shrunk in the playoffs against switch coverage and has always been an unsteady player, further bringing his value into question.
However, if the two primary suitors for a Gobert trade are the Bulls and Wolves, is Russell better than Nikola Vucevic and filler? This is why some executives speculate – and I stress this, speculate – that eventually Chicago will involve Patrick Williams in the deal.
Without Williams, the Bulls’ offer may not be the best on the table. Whether that’s posturing from Utah or not, that’s the consensus. As is typical with these types of negotiations, there’s a standoff element with both sides resolved not to blink.