It seems like this is going to be an annual thing. At some point every year Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert will have to address reports that their relationship is less than friendly.
Reports had bubbled up over the last few weeks and again in recent days that tensions were flaring between Mitchell and Gobert, but when Mitchell was asked about his relationship with Gobert on Friday morning, Mitchell completely dismissed any notion that there is trouble in paradise.
“No, no, no, no. We’re good,” Mitchell said. “That’s not true.”
Mitchell said that he wasn’t sure where the reports were coming from or what the source for the reports was. He assumes that the reports are a result of the team having a rough stretch over the last month and a losing streak — now is the time when people will be predicting doom for the Utah Jazz.
“Him and I, we don’t really pay too much attention to it ... we’re not too stressed about it,” Mitchell said. “We’re good and we’re ready to come back and play together and take our games to the next level.”
The most recent report on the subject surfaced Friday morning from the ESPN podcast, “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective,” featuring Windhorst and Tim MacMahon.
“Gobert and Mitchell have been at each other’s — I don’t know that I’d say at each other’s throats,” Windhorst said.
“It’s back to being passive aggressively awkward,” MacMahon replied.
“It’s the most underplayed story in the league right now,” Windhorst said. “Because the Jazz are struggling a lot. The team had big expectations, and they’re getting passed by, quite frankly. ... Donovan and Gobert, even though they’re under long-term contracts are under each other’s skin.”
Mitchell said while there are plenty of people who are willing to speak for himself and Gobert on the subject, people should take everything with a grain of salt until they hear it directly from one of the players.
“I’m getting tired of answering (these questions) to be honest,” Mitchell said. “Look, we put in the work, we’re leaders for our team, and we’re going through a tough stretch and that happens. But this is part of the business and that’s just how it goes.”
Mitchell is set to return to play Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets after missing the last eight games with a concussion.