Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Utah Jazz were gearing up for a long playoff run. Behind the partnership of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, Utah was optimistic about their chances.
After the pandemic? The team may never be the same.
It was in Utah, on the Jazz, that the NBA first had contact with the virus. Rudy Gobert was the first player to test positive with the virus and it prompted a league-wide shut down of all basketball activities. Gobert’s behavior in the days leading up to his diagnosis was reckless — reports indicated he was intentionally touching his teammates and their things and he was caught on camera “jokingly” touching microphone equipment after the game.
This behavior and the lack of seriousness from Gobert in general caused tensions to rise in the locker room, and it was only stressed when Donovan Mitchell got diagnosed with the virus as well.
Apparently, the relationship between the two may be irreparable (according to Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Tony Jones of The Athletic).
https://twitter.com/pickuphoop/status/1248613697192247297
It remains to be seen how the team, and both players, will respond to this situation. So far; things don’t look good for the state of the locker room moving forward.
So should we expect a trade at some point? It seems far off now and there is still time to get things on the right track but if Mitchell continues to resist repairing his relationship with Gobert, we may see a split before too long.
It’ll be interesting to see how it ends for both players.
