Rudy Gobert could be pulling off the most shocking move since Hulk Hogan jumped to WCW.
Speaking this week with Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, an unnamed Western Conference executive suggested that the Golden State Warriors could pursue the three-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert if he becomes available.
“If Rudy Gobert becomes available this summer, I think you’d find a lot of those veterans with the Warriors might want the team to make a run at him,” the executive was quoting as saying.
That is a very surprising rumor for several reasons. The most obvious one is that one of those Warriors veterans, Draymond Green, has major beef with Gobert. Green has gone out of his way to diss Gobert over the last several years, including as recently as a couple of months ago.
Another reason is that Dubs coach Steve Kerr is the small-ball whisperer. He generally prefers deploying lineups with smaller, more versatile 5s like the 6-foot-9 Kevon Looney or even the 6-foot-6 Green. Young Warriors seven-footer James Wiseman, a traditional post-up big, is a player who struggled to find his footing in Kerr’s system as a rookie. Meanwhile, the seven-footers who did succeed during the heyday of the Warriors dynasty (such as Andrew Bogut and JaVale McGee) were sparingly-used pieces who rarely saw more than 20 minutes per game. Gobert, who averages 32.1 minutes per game this season, is a lead-footed big that opposing teams can exploit by going small. While Gobert is a mastodon in the paint who is still arguably the single best defender in the NBA, he would represent a major stylistic departure from Kerr’s traditional schemes.
Reasons for skepticism aside, Gobert will likely be a trade candidate if the Jazz flame out in the postseason again this season. Some other intriguing rumors have already cropped up with Gobert’s name in them.
Any interested team will be required to navigate the four years and roughly $170 million that Gobert still has left on his supermax deal. But making a run at the All-NBA big man Gobert would definitely be one way for the Warriors to try to stay competitive as their core continues to age.
Photo: Feb 24, 2020; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) warms up before the game against the Phoenix Suns at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
