“That’s just not true, blatantly not true at all” - Donovan Mitchell dismisses reports of discord with Utah Jazz All-Star teammate Rudy Gobert
Donovan Mitchell shot down rumors of an apparent discord with Utah Jazz co-star Rudy Gobert in a recent interview.
On a recent episode of the Hoop Collective Podcast, ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon reported that there have been tensions between Utah's All-Star duo amid the team's struggles. The Jazz have lost 10 games since January 7.
Here's what the duo said (via Real GM):
“Gobert and Mitchell have been at each other's... I don't know if I can say at each other's throats,” said Brian Windhorst. “It's back to being passively aggressively awkward,” interjected Tim MacMahon.
“It's the most underplayed story in the league, I think,” continued Windhorst. “The Jazz are struggling a lot. This team had big expectations and they're getting passed by frankly. They are not on the level they were a year ago.”
He went on to add:
“Donovan and Gobert, even though they're both under long-term contract, are under each other's skin. There's all kind of subtweeting and passive aggressive stuff going on.”
Donovan Mitchell had been on the sidelines since January 17 because of concussion protocols. He met the media for the first time since then on Friday, ahead of the Utah Jazz' home fixture against the Brooklyn Nets. Eric Walden of
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Mitchell dismissed rumors of his rift with Rudy Gobert, saying:
“No, no, no, no, no. We’re good,” Mitchell said. “I saw that [report] coming in this morning. Nah, we’re good. That’s just not true. Blatantly not true at all. We’ve never had this stretch of losses in a row, so now’s the time for all these things to come out, I guess. But it’s like, ‘C’mon, bro.’ Nah, we’re good.”
The ‘incessant buzz around’ the league is that there are those in Donovan Mitchell’s circle who believe he is too big of a star for Salt Lake City, per @RicBucher
East Scout: “They’re a first-round exit from Donovan being in New York,” https://t.co/sQ9kU50Vec
Utah Jazz struggling to replicate last season's success, despite All-Star caliber years from Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert
The Utah Jazz were expected to be among the top teams in the Western Conference this season, following their regular-season heroics from last year. They finished with a league-leading 52-20 record during the shortened 2020-21 campaign.
All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who will play Friday vs. Nets, called the latest rumor of discord with Utah Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert “blatantly not true.” He also discussed at length his recovery from the concussion he suffered Jan. 17. sltrib.com/sports/jazz/20…
However, they haven't lived up to the hype this season, already recording 21 losses thus far, with 11 of them coming in their last 15 games. Several lowly ranked teams, including the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers, have played fearlessly against Utah and caused upsets too.
Regardless, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert have played at an elite level. The former has averaged 25.5 points and 5.8 assists, while the latter has managed 16 points and 15.6 rebounds per game.
Utah have their task cut out until the end of the season to resolve their issues as they do not appear to be a team that can make a deep playoff run at the moment. That will be their goal for this campaign, though, after consistently struggling to make the conference finals over the last few years.
It remains to be seen if they can stitch together a winning run in the coming weeks.