A few weeks after Rudy Gobert’s trade to Wolves, we finally heard Karl-Anthony Towns on the subject. Present at a press conference to announce his extension in Minnesota, the All-Star interior did not mince his words. For him, Wolves are now title contenders, with a hyper-complementary racket that is likely to do a lot of damage.
Back in the Playoffs for the first time since 2018, Wolves were finally a bit tight to pass against Ja Morant’s Grizzlies. A defeat in the first round (4-2) which obviously made the franchise want to accelerate and take a big step this summer. After the arrival of Tim Connelly, new president of basketball operations, the Minnesota team decided to blow up a big trade to recover Rudy Gobert. A nice shot to try, since the Wolves will have a fairly monstrous racket next season: with Rudy Gobert, they associate an elite defender (3 times voted defender of the year and as many All-Star Game selections) with Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the most gifted pivots in the League offensively. Present in front of the media on the occasion of the announcement of his contract extension, Charles-Antoine Villes took the opportunity to give his opinion on what changes the arrival of Rudy for the Minnesota franchise. And the least we can say is that ambitions are very high in the Midwest:
“Now it’s the title or nothing. You have to think that, that’s really what’s at stake. I don’t think the fans would accept an elimination in the Conference Final, let’s be real. The goals are high, the pressure is high and all of this should make us enjoy playing basketball even more. »
– Karl-Anthony Towns
The Wolves candidates for the title, just that. The statement may come as a surprise, but it makes some sense when you see what the franchise has dropped in Gobert’s trade. 5 players left, along with 4 future first-round draft picks. An important package that compromises the future of the Wolves if the bet does not work. But at the same time, the opportunity that presented itself is great and we find ourselves facing a duo that could hit almost 100% of the interior sectors at Uncle Sam. Karl-Anthony Towns himself seems thrilled by the move of its leaders and emphasizes its complementarity with its new guy:
“Rudy will play an important role in helping us become a champion caliber team. My job will be to help him as much as he is going to help me. His strengths are my weaknesses and his weaknesses are my strengths, so we will be able to play for each other. »
One of the most dissuasive defenders in the League associated with a big offensive talent in the same sector of play? This is promising for next season, especially when we think that the two men should be well accompanied by guys like D’Angelo Russell or Anthony Edwards. In any case, this Wolves team promises to be very sexy to watch and may cause clicks next season. It’s good to bend your torso in the summer in front of the press, but it will obviously be necessary to validate all that on the floors next fall. Even if the title is not over, it’s time for the Wolves to send a strong message to the rest of the League.
A Karl-Anthony Towns – Rudy Gobert racquet, hard to ask for better in the current NBA. The partnership is very promising on paper and everyone seems happy with the set-up of the Wolves side. We now have to work to convert all this potential into victories and (finally) turn the corner.
Sources : Star Tribune, Bleacher Report