KEY POINTS

  • Rudy Gobert said on his IG Live video that he and Donovan Mitchell already spoke to each other
  • He said that they are focused on winning the title for Utah
  • Gobert described the relationship with the team as “far from perfect”

The rocky relationship between Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell was the start of some trade rumors where both players became targets by some teams. The reports came out after hearing that the issue between the two isn’t being worked out and the connection between both players is "unsalvageable".

However, the 7-foot-1 center repudiated the reports.

Gobert talked about the issue in an Instagram Live video and addressed the worries of the Utah Jazz fans about the bond between the team’s two first-time All-Stars. As per Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune, the 27-year old French center admitted that he and the 2017 Rookie of the Year runner-up hit a rough patch. Walden also confirmed a part of the reports.

“It is true that we didn't speak for a while, a few days, but we did speak a few days ago and, you know … we're both ready to go out there and try to win a championship for this team,” the French big man told Tyler Rooks of Bleacher Report. “It's all about being a professional. And, you know, everyone's got different relationships, it's never perfect — people that are married, it's never perfect.”

“So me and my teammates, it's far from perfect. But at the end of the day, we both want the same thing — and it's winning. We're both grown men, we're both gonna do what it takes to win.”

“I’m someone that jokes around all the time, and people that really know me, they know my heart and they know who I am,” Gobert said about the video of him jokingly touching media’s recorders and microphones that earned the ire of the fans.

“It’s something that really made me look bad and made me look like someone that didn’t care about other people’s lives other people’s well-being — someone that I’m not,” he added about the incident which he described as his main regret.

It’s almost been three weeks since the entire team was cleared by the Department of Health from coronavirus per NBA reports. Prior to the suspension, the Jazz racked a 41-23 win-loss card that put them at fourth place in the Western Conference. The team was about to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road when Gobert tested positive from COVID-19 and the game was canceled. The league was then suspended indefinitely. Reports followed that Mitchell became the second player who got the virus.

This report is music to the ears of the Jazz fans, who are having a strong season before it was halted.

Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert - Utah Jazz
Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz and Rudy Gobert #27 talk against the New Orleans Pelicans during a game at the Smoothie King Center on January 06, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images