Early playoff exits always bring up some uncomfortable questions. For the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of those questions seems to be whether they should move on from Rudy Gobert or stick with their frontcourt rotation of Gobert, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid.
NBA Insider Jake Fischer recently said on a Bleacher Report livestream, “He had a very good series against Nikola Jokic this spring, but I do think there are starting to be some questions in Minnesota about the viability of Rudy Gobert long-term.”
Now, how do the Raptors fit into this? Well, swapping Gobert for Immanuel Quickley would be an interesting possibility for the Timberwolves. He could share playmaking responsibilities with Anthony Edwards and add a catch-and-shoot threat to the Timberwolves’ lineup.
Clutch Points’ David Yapkowitz proposed that the Raptors move Quickley, who would also be a convenient salary match, and a few draft picks for Gobert. Replacing Jakob Poeltl, who had another injury-ridden season, with a 7’1” center who averaged a double-double and 1.6 blocks per game this season is enticing, but this deal would leave the Raptors with serious questions at the point guard spot.
How would the Raptors fill the point guard position in this situation?
There are a few options for the Raptors here. They could play a massive lineup with Scottie Barnes as the point guard surrounded by RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Rudy Gobert, and Ja’Kobe Walter. Walter would be a necessity in this lineup over Collin Murray-Boyles because of his 3-point shooting. Gobert doesn’t shoot threes at all, and Barnes and Barrett haven’t consistently established themselves as reliable outside threats yet either. Even if Walter continues to shoot 40% from three on a high volume, this lineup would have major spacing issues.
Elevating Jamal Shead to a starting point guard role also wouldn’t help with the Raptors’ spacing issues. He filled in admirably when Quickley’s injury pushed him into a bigger role, but he also only shot 32.1% from three for the season.
Another option would be to draft a point guard in the first round—if the Raptors still have a first-round pick after the trade—but trusting a rookie point guard who wasn’t a top pick would be risky, too.
Other than that, the Raptors could forego re-signing Sandro Mamukelashvili if he opts out of his player option to become a free agent and trade Gradey Dick to free up some salary and see if they can somehow find a cheap point guard in free agency.
Or, maybe, the Raptors would be able to pull off a second trade for a point guard, depending on how many draft picks they would have to send to Minnesota and who’s available at that position.
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