The expectations are all too actual for the Timberwolves after buying and selling for Rudy Gobert, with Karl-Anthony Cities going as far as to say it’s “championship or bust” in Minnesota.
“While you make the commerce that we made, that’s the truth, I’m not making an attempt to sugarcoat,” Cities stated after signing his super-max extension on Friday, per the Star-Tribune. “You’ve obtained to suppose that. That’s actually what’s on the desk. I don’t suppose the followers can be accepting of a third-round elimination.
“… Let’s be actual. The requirements are excessive. The strain is excessive. And that’s once we ought to all like to play basketball much more.”
That’s a lofty objective for a staff that went 46-34 final season, however Cities is at the least proper that Minnesota pushed a number of chips in when it traded for Gobert. The Timberwolves gave up 5 gamers and 5 future first-round picks within the deal, regardless of Gobert’s struggles within the playoffs with Utah.
The Timberwolves go into subsequent season with a core of Cities, Gobert and Anthony Edwards — sufficient to be intriguing, however their title odds are nonetheless 66/1.
Nonetheless, it's a huge enchancment from the place the franchise has been lately. Final yr’s first-round playoff loss was simply the second time since 2004 that Minnesota has made the postseason, the primary being in 2018.
“For Karl, he’s seen a number of robust days,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly stated, per the Star-Tribune. “It was so thrilling to listen to how excited he was about [head coach Chris Finch] and his teammates and the way shortly he was prepared to get this completed.”
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