The continued silence of Donovan Mitchell on Rudy Gobert has Utah Jazz fans worried that the two might need to be separated. Here are some stars the Jazz could pursue if that ends up being the case.
One of the biggest stories in the NBA right now happens to be right within the Utah Jazz team, and their two All-Stars. Can they make up for their differences enough to win on the court, or will the Utah Jazz front office be forced to choose between the two of them?
Three weeks ago the big fiasco went down in Oklahoma City, where Rudy Gobert was the first NBA player to test positive for the novel coronavirus. The game was postponed, then the rest of the NBA was suspended immediately.
The next morning, Donovan Mitchell became the second NBA player to test positive, and Adrian Wojnarowski reported on ESPN’s First Take that Mitchell and Gobert had some mending to do in their relationship.
The thing is though, if this rift was only about the novel coronavirus, I would confidently say the two of them can be friends again and forget the whole thing. But the fact is that they had problems we could read through body language dating back this whole season.
Back in November, Rudy told reporters this after a game, via Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune:
"“When you have a guy that’s [7-foot-2] who can catch the ball and finish under the rim, you have to use it,” Gobert said. “We haven’t done it the last two years against the Rockets and we’re not doing it right now, so I’m hoping we can work on it.”"
He didn’t sound mad or pissed off when he made the comments, but you could tell it was an underlying factor that never truly resolved itself this season.
After the All-Star break, when the Jazz played like a shell of themselves, Gobert started showing his frustration for lack of touches on both ends of the floor. It got to the point where he stopped giving his full effort on defense.
All of this combined with a failure to meet preseason expectations have contributed to the Gobert/Mitchell rift, and the novel coronavirus was the straw that broke the camel’s back on their relationship.
I’d like to believe they will make it work, and get back to helping each other on the basketball court rather than competing for who the brighter star is of the duo. Jared Woodcox of the Purple Mountain Post put it well, saying:
"The Jazz need Rudy Gobert to be playing absolutely elite defense like he’s capable of. Donovan Mitchell himself needs to be able to count on Gobert behind him to play that kind of defense and protect the rim. Yet, Gobert has shown that in order for him to maintain his defensive intensity, he needs opportunities on offense. That requires that Mitchell look to get him the ball when he’s open or has a mismatch. It’s also become quite clear that Utah’s offense performs better when Gobert is getting enough touches to be efficient and keep opposing defenses honest. Furthermore, if Gobert is commanding defensive attention, Mitchell will have far more space to thrive and create rather than getting plugged up as he attempts to get in the paint."
But what if the two can never reconcile? What options do the Utah Jazz have to remain near the top of the Western Conference?