Ahead of last Thursday’s NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly talked to the San Antonio Spurs at star point guard Dejounte Murray and Utah Jazz defensive star Rudy Gobert. That’s according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, who said this on The Lowe Post podcast on Friday.
“I thought that one of the more interesting parts of draft week was Minnesota reportedly being linked to both Gobert and (Clint) Capela. I had heard those links were exaggerated, particularly in the case of Capela, but that the interest in Gobert was semi-real. Utah is asking way too much. I don’t think Utah got within the 50-yard-line of any Gobert trade this week. We’ll see what this coming week brings. Lowe said.
“But I think the idea that [Karl-Anthony Towns] is OK playing the 4 and that Minnesota is willing to invest its resources at the 5 instead of at the 1 where they have D’Angelo Russell. I was all in and still am all in on Minnesota getting Dejounte Murray. I think that’s the piece I would go for. I do think they talk with the Spurs about Dejounte Murray. The price there is prohibitive, too.”
Lowe wasn’t done.
“I think Minnesota’s summer is going to be really interesting. They have this one vision where they get a big-time center. And then they have this point guard question where D’Angelo Russell is entering the last year of his contract after getting benched in their last game of the season. I think there’s an extension number somewhere with D’Angelo Russell. I think D’Angelo’s Russell’s agents at CAA would be offended by what I would offer in an extension if I were Minnesota, but I do think there’s a middle ground somewhere where both sides could sleep at night. I don’t know if they’ll strike that deal, but I love the fit of Dejounte Murray there. I think Minnesota, Atlanta, Cleveland to some extent, and Washington for sure, were all trying to see what the price for Dejounte Murray would be, and all obviously came up empty.”
Interestingly, the Timberwolves wound up drafting the best shot blocker college basketball has seen in years: Walker Kessler, the 7-foot-1 center from Auburn who had 4.6 blocks per game and was named the NCAA Defensive Player of the Year. Does the Kessler selection mean Gobert is off the table or just flat out too expensive?
Related: Bruce Pearl says Walker Kessler is not a ‘big slow white guy’
Murray, who turns 26 in September, put up incredible numbers for the Spurs this past season, averaging 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.2 assists. He also led the NBA with 2 steals per game.
Gobert, who just turned 30 on June 26, led the NBA in rebounding (14.7 per game) and is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner.
NBA free agency begins Thursday, June 30, meaning rumors are only going to ramp up in the next few days and weeks ahead. We’ll see what the new Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly can do.
