Minnesota boasts a core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell, so the team that Gobert joined is hardly devoid of talent.
But none of their returning players managed to break the plus-5.0 RAPTOR threshold last season, with Towns coming closest at plus-2.0. And even next to that established foundation, Gobert may well be the T-Wolves’ most impactful player. Although it hasn’t shown up in the on/off-court metrics yet, he theoretically fits the current construction of the roster, despite his co-star being another center. But the teams who improved most in the playoffs following a star acquisition had players already on the roster with higher RAPTOR ratings than the newcomer. Indeed, the Timberwolves are 5-7 against a relatively weak schedule early in the season, and though they have time to improve, they don’t currently have the profile of a championship contender.
