OKC Thunder: POKU forever linked to brief Rosas tenure in Minny

With the 2021-22 season on the horizon, the OKC Thunder will commence training camp at the start of next week. Yet, while the emphasis for all basketball fans is excitement about the impending season news out of Minnesota stopped some dead in their tracks.

Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas was fired. Not only is the decision shocking but the timing is also suspect. Why cut someone in your front office so close to the start of the season?

Moreover, based on the response of the team’s superstar Karl-Anthony Towns, this news wasn’t run by him either. While that’s not necessarily a given, most superstars are either given a heads up or asked for input before a decision of this nature occurs.

Rosas came over to Minny with a wealth of knowledge gained primarily in his time working with Daryl Morey in Houston for the Rockets. That contract with the Timberwolves only began a little over two years ago (May 1, 2019).

During his time at the helm, Rosas made big trades and brought in some exciting young talent. One move that will undoubtedly be questioned was the trade to bring KAT’s friend D’Angelo Russell to Minny. At the time it was believed Towns was growing more and more disenchanted with the franchise’s poor record and lack of postseason appearances.

The duo has never been able to get on the court simultaneously for long stretches so evaluating how successful the deal is from Minny’s perspective is hard. On the opposite side of the equation, Andrew Wiggins (the piece sent to the Dubs) has fit in well in Golden State.  More concerning from Minny’s side is the draft pick Rosas sent to GSW that ended up being Jonathan Kuminga.

OKC Thunder forward Pokusevski forever linked to brief Rosas tenure in Minny

Although, not a big part of the equation, the OKC Thunder also factored in Rosas’ tenure with the Wolves. As part of the big trade that sent Robert Covington to the Blazers, Minny got back Portland’s 17th 2020 draft pick.

That pick was then used in a deal with the OKC Thunder when Sam Presti moved up to grab Aleksej Pokusevski.  It was a complicated three-team deal that brought POKU to OKC along with James Johnson and the Wolves 2024 second-round pick. OKC’s contribution was sending back their 25th (Immanuel Quickley who went to the Knicks) and 28th (Jaden McDaniels to Minny) draft picks as well as Ricky Rubio.

Johnson never donned the OKC jersey as Presti quickly jettisoned him to Dallas in another three-team deal that brought Justin Jackson back to OKC along with two second-round draft picks (2023, 2026)  plus Trevor Ariza.

Jackson was later waived while Ariza was traded to the Heat in exchange for Meyers Leonard (also later waived) a 2027 second-round draft pick and a trade exception.

Perhaps the takeaway here is the Wolves might’ve been hoping for much more activity similar to how his OKC Thunder counterpart Presti deals and flips players to gain other assets and draft picks.

Given the prior relationship between Rosas and Morey maybe the Wolves expected Gersson to get a deal for Ben Simmons done. With the latter demanding a trade and refusing to show up in Philly it sure feels like strange timing.

Or it could be as simple as the new Minnesota Timberwolves ownership which includes Mark Lore and former MLB player Alex Rodriguez just wanted a fresh start.

Regardless, one day down the road if POKU grows into what many believe could be a special player we’ll point back to the brief tenure of Gersson Rosas and thank him for making that deal!