On July 1st, The Minnesota Timberwolves traded for Rudy Gobert in a deal with the Utah Jazz sending four first round picks and three role players in return. The Minnesota Timberwolves currently have a record of 13-15 through the first 28 games of the NBA season. The team has been struggling to keep it together on and off the court.

Last year, the Timberwolves’ defense was ranked 13th in the league. Rudy Gobert, a multiple time Defensive Player of the Year, was supposed to greatly improve Minnesota’s mediocre defense. But this year with the addition of Gobert, the team’s defense has been ranked 16th. This is surprising considering the team was projected to be top ten in the league.

Not only have they been struggling with their defense, but the Timberwolves also have problems with their offense. They currently hold the 21st spot in the league, compared to being ranked 8th last year. This had led fans to expect more from the team now there are doubts they will even make it to the playoffs.

Even though Gobert was blamed for the early season struggles, D’angelo Rusell and Anthony Edwards also had disappointing starts this season. The Timberwolves team does not seem to mesh well. Owen Krisicki, a freshman at OHS shares, “Gobert isn’t the right fit for their team;” he explains that the team is having issues with communication on and off the court.

There have been many controversies between players off the court. NBC sports shares the controversy between the Timberwolves center Karl Anthony-Towns and Anthony Edwards. Anthony-Towns argued, “Maybe I could do a better job of teaching him how to take care of his body, diet and everything.”

Robert Wright, a freshman at OHS, adds, “Gobert should never have been traded in the first place.”

Meanwhile, Kisicki shares that with Gobert on the team, “The Timberwolves chemistry is off and their defense has been hurt by the trade.”

Fans predicted the Timberwolves would perform much better this season. Kisicki, claims “I thought they would be 3rd or 4th in the conference.” While the team has fallen to the 11th conference. The Timberwolves traded a lot of their team for Gobert and it has not seemed to work in their advantage.

Overall, the trade has fans upset with its effect on the team’s performance. The Timberwolves defense has been decent at best, and the team has struggled to keep up with an all-time Great Western Conference. The Timberwolves need to quickly figure out both the offense and defensive sides of the ball or the team might look quite different next year.