NBA Trade Rumors: Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert to swap teams?
In the biggest of the NBA Trade Rumors suggested of late, it has been reported that the Utah Jazz could decide to shake things up after their heartbreaking collapse from 3-1 up in the NBA Western Conference playoffs - round one, to ultimately lose 3-4 to the Denver Nuggets. The Jazz have a few great pieces to build a Championship squad around, led by the dynamic Donovan Mitchell. Perhaps one could blame the disastrous downfall on the absence of a key player like Bojan Bogdanovic, but that'd be clutching at straws at best.
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Therefore, it is not completely outrageous to suggest a trade that ships two-time defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert out of Utah. Gobert has been the second star alongside Mitchell in a very decent Jazz team for three years now, but perhaps they need to move on from the Frenchman if they want to seriously contend for a title. Rudy Gobert is one of the best centers in the league, but his offensive game is limited, to say the least, and the Jazz perhaps need to try something else.
NBA Trade Rumors: Joel Embiid the best replacement for Rudy Gobert?
There are only a select few centers in the league who can be hailed as even better than Rudy Gobert. One of them is 7'0" Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. The Cameroonian is considered the best center in the league when in form by many NBA fans. He averaged a 30-point double-double in the 76ers' first-round series against the Boston Celtics, although his team would get swept by their arch-rivals.
Many experts have adviced the 76ers to start again from scratch, which would require them to trade Joel Embiid for other pieces. Rudy Gobert is as good a player as they can hope to get, and the Jazz will also include a fair few picks to sweeten the deal. It would mean that Joel Embiid gets the change of scenery he probably needs, to feel confident about himself again. Also, Donovan Mitchell would get a superstar to help him bring an NBA Championship to Utah.
At this point, this NBA trade rumor is a theory at best, but if it does go through, the Utah Jazz will be a force to reckon with in the West. They would almost instantly turn into one of the favourites to win the title. As for the Philadelphia 76ers, they will get valuable trade pieces to work with and try and head towards the right direction again. They might decide to build with Gobert, or maybe flip him further for more assets.
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