Four seasons ago, the Wolves ranked 13th in defensive efficiency. Three years ago, with Karl-Anthony Towns dealing with injuries and illness and Gobert adapting to a new team, the Wolves ranked 11th. Two years ago, they ranked first. Last year, they ranked sixth.
Connelly traded D’Angelo Russell, a player the organization couldn’t wait to get rid of and who made clear his displeasure about playing alongside Gobert, for Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Russell was the most talented and productive player in the deal, but Conley and Alexander-Walker became the starting point guard and off-the-bench defensive stopper for a team that reached the Western Conference finals in back-to-back years.
Connelly guessed correctly that Conley would elevate the play of his former teammate Gobert and provide wisdom to a young locker room. And he guessed correctly that Alexander-Walker would be able to grow into a larger role than he had been given in New Orleans or Utah.
Last summer, Connelly traded Towns to New York for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round draft pick. Connelly knew he would eventually have to move Towns for salary cap reasons, and he chose a player Chris Finch had worked with before in Randle, and an excellent two-way player who had thrived in the playoffs in DiVincenzo. He also recouped a first-round pick after trading so many away.
Randle belatedly proved he could play well alongside Anthony Edwards and contribute to a winning team. DiVincenzo, similarly, started slowly but played well down the stretch in the regular season. And the first-round pick could be part of a package to acquire Durant.