The Minnesota Timberwolves introduced Rudy Gobert on Wednesday afternoon and the former All-NBA center wasted no time stating what his main aim is in Minnesota.
“The goal is to win a championship,” Gobert said. “That’s what I came here to do.”
A Championship will be difficult to achieve as the Timberwolves have only made the playoffs twice in the past 18 seasons, but with an up-and-coming roster and the chance to play next to Karl-Anthony Towns, Gobert believes he has found the perfect challenge for this point in his career.
“Obviously, me and KAT have been going at it for many years and we’re very unique and different players,” Gobert said. “The first time [my agent] told me [about Minnesota] I was like ‘Can that work?’ I was thinking about it every day when I was going to bed. I was thinking about it more and more and actually, that’s probably the most exciting challenge for me [to] pair with a guy like KAT and an organization like the Timberwolves that really wants to win.”
FIRST LOOK 😱 pic.twitter.com/MWKbNxJGva
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 6, 2022
Minnesota gave up five players and five first-round draft picks to acquire the 30-year-old from the Utah Jazz and although the price was steep, they kept a lot of their core pieces, including rising superstar Anthony Edwards and the highly-coveted Jaden McDaniels.
“He’s been growing and improving year after year,” Gobert said of Edwards. “He’s one of the most exciting young players in this league, so I’m excited to play alongside him and D’Angelo Russell and Jaden McDaniels…it’s a very unique core of young guys and a really good coach that complains about my screens all the time, but now we’re on the same side so I’m excited.”
Although Chris Finch was worried about Gobert’s screens because “they looked like they hurt,” he called Gobert “the perfect fit at the perfect time for our organization.” While some believe that having two giant players in the frontcourt is an outdated strategy in a league dominated by wings and guards, Finch believes that he can create a system to make it work.
“There’s no shortcutting the work, but we don’t think it’s an awkward fit at all,” Finch said. “Every team is different as you put it together every preseason. Often times what you plan for in the offseason isn’t 100% right. It might take 20 games to get it right. But we see no reason from a basketball perspective why it won’t work.”
A three-time defensive player of the year, the 7-foot-1 Gobert believes that his presence along with the 6-foot-11 Towns can add a unique element to the lineup. That would be key for the Timberwolves, who are looking to take another step toward a championship.
“Nobody is going to bring to the table what can bring to the table,” Gobert said. “My goal is to make Karl a better player on both ends and make his life easier and allow him to be better than he already is. I think he’ll do the same for me and the same for the young guys.”
