Rudy Gobert is heading to Minnesota after Utah agreed to a blockbuster trade with the Timberwolves. Rick Bowmer/Associated Press
For Utah, one era is ending.
For Minnesota, one seems to be beginning.
The Jazz have agreed to trade Rudy Gobert — a three-time defensive player of the year — to the Timberwolves for a massive package of players and draft picks, according to a person with knowledge of the blockbuster deal.
Utah will receive four first-round picks between 2023 and 2029, a first-round pick from this year’s draft in Walker Kessler, along with Patrick Beverley and Malik Beasley, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the NBA had not approved the deal and neither team could announce it publicly.
ESPN, which first reported the trade, also said Jarred Vanderbilt was going from Minnesota to Utah as part of the deal for Gobert — who now gets paired alongside another elite big man in Karl-Anthony Towns.
“5 firsts …. Sheeeeeshhhhh,” New Orleans guard CJ McCollum posted on Twitter.
Indeed, it is a slew of assets for the Jazz, who made the playoffs in each of the last six seasons and now seem to be resetting in multiple ways. Quin Snyder decided to depart last month after eight years as coach; the Jazz hired Will Hardy, a longtime San Antonio assistant and an assistant for Boston on its run to the Eastern Conference title this past season, to take over on the bench.
And now, Gobert leaves, officially ending his pairing with guard Donovan Mitchell in Utah — an on-court relationship that seemed really good at times, and strained at other moments. And a series of disappointing playoff exits led to the annual question of whether the two could coexist on a title-contending team.
Gobert is part of a new duo now: Twin Towers in the Twin Cities.
He’ll start alongside Towns, forming what arguably will be the best 1-2 big-man punch in the league. Minnesota, barring other moves, could have a starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, along with Gobert and Towns.
Minnesota struck the deal less than 24 hours after coming to an agreement on a $224 million, four-year extension with Towns, who is now under contract for the next six years.
Gobert has four years and $170 million left on a five-year, $205 million deal he signed with the Jazz last summer.
FREE AGENCY: Zach LaVine is staying in Chicago. Same goes for Jusuf Nurkic in Portland.
Day 2 of NBA free agency on Friday brought another max deal — this time, going to LaVine, who secured the richest contract in Bulls history when he agreed to a $215 million, five-year contract.
LaVine technically was a free agent, for about 18 hours. Klutch Sports, which represents LaVine, made the announcement of the max agreement, with the Bulls able to offer the Olympic gold medalist and two-time All-Star $56 million more than any other club could this summer.
Nurkic got by far the biggest payday of his career, agreeing to a four-year, $70 million contract with Portland. The center just completed his eighth NBA season, the last six of those coming with the Trail Blazers, for whom he averaged 15 points and 11.1 rebounds this past season.
Mitchell Robinson is another big man not moving elsewhere, agreeing Friday to a $60 million, four-year contract to remain with the New York Knicks.
Bruce Brown Jr., a guard who has decided to leave Brooklyn and sign with Denver on a two-year deal worth just over $13 million. Brown averaged a career-best 9 points per game this past season for the Nets.
Another deal that was put into motion earlier in the week was completed, when five-time All-Star John Wall – bought out by the Houston Rockets – announced he had agreed to a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. Wall was under contract for $47.4 million this season, got bought out by Houston for about $41 million, and will get the $6.4 million difference from the Clippers. Wall hasn’t played in the NBA since April 2021, and has appeared in 82 games, including playoffs, over the last 4 1/2 seasons.
LaVine’s agreement was at least the fifth deal of at least $200 million struck since free agency opened on Thursday. The others all came on Day 1, going to Nikola Jokic ($264 million extension in Denver), Bradley Beal ($251 million contract to stay in Washington), Devin Booker ($224 million extension with Phoenix) and Karl-Anthony Towns ($224 million extension with Minnesota).
And a sixth deal could very easily join that $200 million club: Memphis’ Ja Morant agreed to a $193 million extension that could reach $231 million based on what awards he qualifies for this coming season.
CAVALIERS: Free agent point guard Ricky Rubio has agreed to return to Cleveland on a multiyear contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
Rubio, who was instrumental in Cleveland’s turnaround last season before injuring his left knee, agreed to a three-year, $18.4 million deal, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not yet announced the agreement.
HAWKS-KINGS TRADE: Atlanta is trading Kevin Huerter to Sacramento for Justin Holiday, Mo Harkless and a future conditional draft pick, according to a person with direct knowledge of the agreement.
Huerter averaged 11.4 points in four seasons with Atlanta after being selected by the Hawks with the No. 19 pick in the 2018 draft. He was a starter for the overwhelming majority of his time in Atlanta.
Holiday spent 26 games with the Hawks in the 2015-16 season and averaged 8.3 points for the Kings this past season. Harkless averaged 4.6 points for Sacramento last season.
RULES: The NBA has sent another strong indicator that the penalty for transition take fouls is about to change.
Such fouls will result in a penalty of one free throw, plus retention of the ball, at all three summer leagues this season – first the two smaller ones in San Francisco and Salt Lake City that start this weekend, then the 30-team one in Las Vegas that opens next week.
Changing the rule at the NBA level has been mulled for several years, with momentum moving toward finally making something happen in recent months. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told The Associated Press last month that he expects the oft-maligned foul to come with stiffer penalties next season.
The play occurs when a defender intentionally commits a foul to halt a transition opportunity for the opposition. Typically, such a foul only has resulted in the disadvantaged team taking the ball out of bounds. But since 2018, in the G League, when a defender commits a take foul, the fouled team retains possession and gets one free throw before play resumes.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.