Rudy Gobert Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wolves’ Rudy Gobert Enters Health And Safety Protocols

November 5th, 2022 at 12:49pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against Houston after entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Minnesota announced (via Twitter).

According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), Gobert was listed as questionable (illness) for Friday’s loss to Milwaukee, but wound up playing 30 minutes in the game and is now in the protocols, which isn’t a great situation for anyone involved. Gobert was famously the first known NBA player to test positive for COVID-19 in March 2020.

The league revised its COVID-related protocols over the summer and now requires testing for vaccinated players only when they show symptoms of the virus. Unvaccinated players still must be tested once per week. Players are subject to isolation measures after a positive test.

As Chris Hine of The Star Tribune tweets, there is no longer a mandatory quarantine timeline if Gobert tested positive, but he would need to pass the NBA’s testing requirements to be cleared from the protocols. If he doesn’t pass the tests, he can still return to action after 10 days.

The Wolves have had a rocky start to the 2022/23 season after their blockbuster trade to acquire Gobert from Utah in July, currently sitting with a 4-5 record. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year has been his normal productive self individually — he’s averaging 12.6 points, a league-best 13.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in nine games (32.2 minutes) — but the starting lineup has struggled offensively.

It was expected that there would be an acclimation period after the Wolves traded two starters in the Gobert deal, and that’s proven to be accurate. Losing Gobert temporarily certainly won’t help, but it’s worth noting that Minnesota started last season slowly and wound up making the playoffs after a second-half surge.

Northwest Notes: Timberwolves, Gobert, Towns, Simons, Lillard

October 25th, 2022 at 5:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The star-studded Timberwolves have stumbled out of the gate to begin the 2022/23 NBA season, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The 2-2 Wolves have now dropped games against the Jazz and Spurs in what had been projected as a fairly easy opening stretch for a team that reshaped its roster by adding former Utah All-Star center Rudy Gobert in a blockbuster deal this summer.

Krawczynski observes that, in the Wolves’ third home game of the year against San Antonio, they looked particularly listless defensively, star shooting guard Anthony Edwards appeared disengaged on offense, Gobert struggled to hold onto rebounds, and the club was playing through boos from the Target Center crowd in Minneapolis. Gobert posited after the game that the club needed to improve its communication on the floor.

“It doesn’t take much energy to talk,” Gobert offered. “You just gotta want to do it. We’re not there yet. Hopefully, you know, we’re gonna get there soon, and we’re gonna learn.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

One big issue for the Timberwolves‘ new jumbo-sized starting lineup has been its transition defense, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Starting two nominal centers in the frontcourt, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, could be part of the trouble. Hines notes that the team is permitting opposing clubs to score 21 fast-break points per game, which is the worst such average in the NBA. “We have to understand what our flaws are and how we have to cover them,” head coach Chris Finch acknowledged. “Such as, we may not be the fastest of foot from end line to end line, but we’ve got to make a better effort.”
A huge sharpshooting night for Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons on Monday serves as an indicator that Portland’s hot 4-0 start to the 2022/23 season has nearly as much to do with the newly-revamped club’s role players as it does with the constant brilliance of point guard Damian Lillard, opines Jason Quick of The Athletic. Simons connected on his first eight straight shots, which included six triples, to help Portland blow out the Nuggets 135-110.
Lillard has been a big part of the team’s undefeated start. As such, the Trail Blazers guard has taken an early leap in the NBA’s MVP race, per Cole Huff of The Athletic. His odds have risen from +6600 to +2500.

Northwest Notes: Timberwolves, Braun, Jokic, Vanderbilt, Beasley

October 23rd, 2022 at 6:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The 1-1 Timberwolves are continuing to adjust to their new-look roster as the 2022/23 season gets going, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“The smaller we go, the better it is for me,” star Minnesota shooting guard Anthony Edwards said after the team’s 132-126 overtime loss to the rebuilding Jazz Friday night. Given that the team’s highest-paid players are seven-foot frontcourt starters Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, Krawczynski notes that this is a loaded statement.

“I have to get him the ball more,” head coach Chris Finch said of Edwards. “We ran a couple things to get the ball in his hands. And then, again, the ball got sticky. We tried to play through KAT there. But he’s got to get some looks. That’s on me.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Nuggets rookie shooting Christian Braun seems to be carving out a solid bench role already, having logged a productive 23 minutes as a reserve for the Warriors, writes Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. The 21-year-old Braun, selected out of Kansas in this year’s draft with the No. 21 pick, has emerged as a multi-faceted defender, and could prove to be a vital role player for a team with championship aspirations.
Reigning two-time Nuggets MVP Nikola Jokic, one of the league’s best passers, looks set to thrive surrounded by sharpshooting colleagues, notes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. New additions Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Braun raved about the depths of the center’s hoops knowledge. “Jok is unbelievable,” Caldwell-Pope said. Braun added: “You try to learn from him because he knows your spot probably better than you do.”
Jazz role players Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley have already been through their share of rebuilds, and hope to use their wealth of experience to help guide the youth movement in Utah, writes Sarah Todd of Deseret News. “Just trying to bring those same qualities and pretty much we’re in the same boat, trying to rebuild and establish a culture and create winning habits,” Vanderbilt said. “[W]e’ve been on three programs [with the Nuggets and the Timberwolves] that before we got there they weren’t playoff contending teams. “We ended up helping be a part of rebuilds and being a part of changing culture. This is not new for us.”

Wolves Notes: Gobert, Towns, Garza, Russell

October 20th, 2022 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders in their 115-108 win over Oklahoma City to open the regular season on Wednesday. Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards combined to shoot just 6-of-27 from the field for a total of 23 points.

However, center Rudy Gobert made his presence felt in his regular season debut with his new team, leading the way with 23 points and 16 rebounds. Head coach Chris Finch said after the game that Gobert’s “impact was strong everywhere,” while the center himself said there’s still plenty of work to do.

“It shows how good we can be and how much better we can be at the same time,” Gobert said of the Wolves’ up-and-down play in the opener, per Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune. “It’s going to be a process and every night is going to be an opportunity for us to get better.”

Here’s more on the Wolves:

The Wolves’ frontcourt pairing of Gobert and Towns, rivals turned allies, is the NBA’s biggest experiment entering this season, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes in an article looking back at how the duo came together and what we should expect from the two star big men.
Luka Garza was thrilled to have his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal at the end of the preseason, as Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune details. “The coaching staff, the system, the players, everything kinds of fit me really well,” Garza said. “For a young big in this league there is no better environment to be in, with the best offensive big in the league and the best defensive big man. What better guys to learn from?” The opportunity to spend some time with the Iowa Wolves was an added bonus for the former Hawkeyes star. “I’m from (Washington) D.C., but now it feels like I’m from Iowa. So I’m super excited,” he said.
A potential unrestricted free agent in 2023, D’Angelo Russell enters this season seeking redemption after a disappointing showing in the Wolves’ first-round playoff loss this spring, says Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.
Michael Rand of The Star Tribune identifies five factors that will help determine how high the Timberwolves’ ceiling is, including their defensive consistency, Russell’s performance in a contract year, and the team’s role players being a net positive.

Northwest Notes: SGA, Dort, K. Williams, Wolves, Edwards, Jazz

October 16th, 2022 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who missed the team’s entire six-game preseason schedule due to Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee, is on track to be available for the regular season opener on Wednesday in Minnesota, head coach Mark Daigneault told reporters on Sunday (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman).

It’s good news for the Thunder and for Gilgeous-Alexander, who has missed significant time in each of the last two seasons because of injuries, including the last 10 games of 2021/22 due to a right ankle issue.

Luguentz Dort (left quad contusion) and Kenrich Williams (right groin strain) also should be available for the Thunder in the first game of the regular season, Daigneault said today (Twitter link via Mussatto).

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

With Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns sharing the court on the first time in Friday’s preseason finale, the Timberwolves looked very much like a group that had yet to play together, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who writes that “the lane was clogged, the ball movement was non-existent and shots were clanking.” However, as Krawczynski outlines, the Wolves know integrating Gobert and the other new players on the roster will take some time and weren’t discouraged by the early returns. “I thought it was good at times, bad at times,” Gobert said after the game. “But I think that’s the fun of it.”
Chris Hine of The Star Tribune takes an in-depth look at Anthony Edwards‘ intense offseason training regimen and explores how that work might translate to the court in the Timberwolves guard’s third NBA season. While much of the focus will be on Gobert’s impact, Edwards’ ability to continue taking his game to new levels may determine how high Minnesota’s ceiling rises.
The Jazz issued a press release on Friday announces several new hires and promotions within the team’s basketball operations department. Most notably, Bart Taylor was named Utah’s vice president of player personnel, while Marquis Newman‘s is now director of pro personnel for the Jazz and general manager of the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate.

Wolves Notes: Gobert, Towns, Chemistry, Garza

October 13th, 2022 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves‘ trade for Rudy Gobert was perhaps the NBA’s biggest blockbuster this summer, shocking league executives due to the price Minnesota was willing to pay. The move also surprised the Wolves’ own players, who were caught off guard that so many of the team’s most well-liked players – including Patrick Beverley – were included in the deal, Brian Windhorst writes in an Insider-only ESPN story.

“It wasn’t that it put us in a bad mood,” forward Taurean Prince said, “but, uh, we were surprised.”

As Windhorst outlines, the Wolves recognized that players like Gobert – a three-time Defensive Player of the Year on a long-term contract – don’t become available often, and believed he would make the team’s current core players better. On top of that, Minnesota didn’t have to give up any of those core players – Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell, and Jaden McDaniels – to acquire Gobert.

“We put up the 30 best players in the league on a board,” head coach Chris Finch said. “At any given time, like there’s maybe three or four of them available. Some aren’t even available if you gave 10 picks. And if you have one you can get and he fits and does a lot of the things that we like — the more that we looked at it and the deeper we went, like just the more we felt like we couldn’t not (trade for him).”

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Towns and Gobert are expected to be active together for the first time in Friday’s preseason finale, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Towns’ preseason debut was delayed by a non-COVID illness, while Gobert has rested in the Wolves’ two most recent preseason contests.
The Timberwolves will need some time to figure out how Towns and Gobert work together, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who suspects it will take another year for the best version of this team to show up. Hollinger expects the Wolves to take a small step forward in 2022/23, projecting 47 wins and a seventh-place finish in the West.
In a Q&A with Mark Medina of NBA.com, Gobert spoke about his first impressions of his new NBA home, establishing chemistry with his new teammates, and much more.
Wolves coach Chris Finch likes what Luka Garza has brought to the team this fall, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “He’s the perfect system fit for us. Great acquisition by our front office,” Finch said. “He’s a guy I think can really grow into our system here. He can stretch the floor and he can score around the basket. That’s a great combo. Not a lot of bigs can do that.” Garza is on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, so it’s unclear if Minnesota plans to keep him on its 17-man roster to open the regular season.

NBA GMs High On Cavs’ Offseason Moves, Bucks’ Title Chances

October 4th, 2022 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers‘ acquisition of Donovan Mitchell made their offseason the most successful of any NBA team, according to the league’s general managers. In his annual survey of the NBA’s top basketball decision-makers, John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes that 41% of the GM respondents picked Cleveland as having made the best offseason moves, while 59% chose the addition of Mitchell as the move that will have the biggest impact.

The Timberwolves and Jazz were on opposite ends of one of the summer’s other blockbuster trades, but the two clubs tied for second (along with the Sixers) in the GM vote for which teams made the best overall offseason moves. Minnesota’s trade for Rudy Gobert was the second-leading vote-getter for the offseason’s most impactful single acquisition, earning 31% of the vote.

The team viewed by the majority of GMs as the title favorite for 2023 didn’t earn any votes for having the best offseason. According to Schuhmann, 43% of the poll respondents picked the Bucks to win next year’s Finals, with GMs apparently betting on continuity in Milwaukee. The Warriors (25%), Clippers (21%), and Celtics (11%) also received votes.

Here are a few more interesting results from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

NBA general managers expect the Clippers – who will have Kawhi Leonard back – to be the most improved team in 2022/23. L.A. received 41% of the vote, with the Cavaliers and Pelicans at 17% apiece.
The Celtics‘ trade for Malcolm Brogdon earned the most votes (28%) for the summer’s most underrated acquisition. The Sixers‘ signing of P.J. Tucker and the Clippers‘ addition of John Wall were the runners-up, with 14% each.
Asked which team has the most promising young core, NBA GMs overwhelmingly chose the Cavaliers (41%) and Grizzlies (38%). The Pistons (10%) were the only other club to get multiple votes.
NBA GMs view Magic forward Paolo Banchero as the best bet to win Rookie of the Year (79%) and also chose him as the 2022 draftee most likely to be the best player in five years (31%), narrowly edging Thunder big man Chet Holmgren (28%). As for the steal of the draft, GMs were split between Pistons big man Jalen Duren and Rockets forward Tari Eason (14% apiece), among many others.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic was picked as the favorite to win MVP, earning 48% of the vote from NBA GMs. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks came in second with 34%.

And-Ones: Extensions, Breakout Players, X Factors, Seattle

October 3rd, 2022 at 10:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Why the sudden surge in two-year extensions for players such as Steven Adams and Larry Nance Jr.? It has a lot to do with the expiration of the league’s national TV contracts after the 2024/25 season, as Bryan Toporek of Forbes.com explains. The salary cap is expected to rise significantly the following season after those rights are negotiated. That provides incentives for veteran players to enter free agency again that summer.

We have more NBA-related topics:

What do Franz Wagner, Cade Cunningham and Nic Claxton have in common? They are some of the young players cited by ESPN Insiders as having potential breakout seasons, like the one Ja Morant enjoyed last season.
Then there are some veteran players whose presence on new teams could change the fortunes of those franchises. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor examines those X-factors, including the Mavericks’ Christian Wood, the Trail Blazers’ Jerami Grant and the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert.
The Clippers and Trail Blazers are playing a preseason game in Seattle and that has renewed the discussion of the NBA eventually having another franchise in the city, Law Murray of The Athletic writes. The state-of-the-art Climate Pledge Arena – the rejuvenated version of KeyArena, where the SuperSonics played – sparks hope that the NBA will give the city an expansion team.

Central Notes: Ball, Clarkson, Bogdanovic, Livers, Vucevic, Caruso

September 29th, 2022 at 10:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

There’s confidence that Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball will return at some point this season, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Ball underwent another left knee surgery on Wednesday and doctors are optimistic the issue has been fully addressed. However, he’s going to be out a number of months, Charania adds.

Ball was still unable to “run or jump” entering training camp despite a lengthy rehab from two previous procedures this year.

We have more from the Central Division:

The Bucks showed a lot of interest in trading for the Jazz‘s Jordan Clarkson but the Jazz balked at Milwaukee’s proposal, Tony Jones of The Athletic said on the Bill Riley Show podcast (hat tip to HoopsHype). Utah was uninterested at taking back George Hill‘s contract, which Jones described as a non-starter in trade discussions. One of the league’s top scoring reserves, Clarkson averaged 16 points last season. He has two years left on his four-year, $51.52MM contract. Hill has an expiring $4MM contract, so Milwaukee would have still needed to send out more salary in a potential trade.
The Lakers and Suns were among the teams reportedly pursuing Bojan Bogdanovic but he wound up getting traded to the Pistons. The former Jazz forward says he wasn’t concerned where he ended up, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “I didn’t have any preference,” Bogdanovic said. “There’s a lot of rumors. Who knows if that’s true or not? I’m super happy and excited to be part of the Pistons.”
Pistons forward Isaiah Livers wound up playing 19 games during his rookie season after recovering from a foot injury. He’s aiming to become a regular part of the rotation this season, he told James Edwards III of The Athletic. “I wanted to build off those last 19, 20 games,” the 2021 second-round pick said. “Coaches and everyone seemed to love the way that I was playing. It was working effectively.”
There was heavy speculation that Bulls center Nikola Vucevic would be part of a package to acquire Rudy Gobert during the offseason. Vucevic had serious doubts that would happen and was proven correct when Gobert was dealt to Minnesota, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. “Rumors are a part of what we do,’’ said Vucevic, who is on an expiring contract. “Whether they’re true or not, it’s out of my control. I focus on what I can control, and, in the end, I had some fun with [the Jazz rumors]. At no point did I feel it was going to happen.’’
Bulls guard Alex Caruso is one of the candidates to replace Ball in the starting lineup as he mends from his latest knee surgery, but that’s not Caruso’s focus, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic writes. “It won’t be a conversation I’ll have with Billy (Donovan). He might have it with me depending on what we need,” Caruso said. “But I’ve always been team-first trying to win games. If that’s me starting basketball games then that’s what we’ll do. If that’s me coming off the bench, that’s fine too. I’ve always been I’d rather finish games than start games.

Wolves Notes: Gobert, Russell, Edwards, Anderson, McDaniels

September 28th, 2022 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

With Karl-Anthony Towns sidelined for the start of the Timberwolves‘ training camp due to a non-COVID illness, center Rudy Gobert didn’t get a chance to work with his new frontcourt partner in his first formal practice with the team on Tuesday. But Gobert said he felt “great” energy on Tuesday and spoke specifically about developing chemistry with new pick-and-roll partner D’Angelo Russell.

“He can see it all,” Gobert said of Russell, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “There’s a few times when I didn’t know that he saw me, and he still saw me. It’s really impressive and it’s really exciting.”

As for his partnership with Towns, Gobert said the two big men have been in contact since he was traded to Minnesota in July and have talked about how they’ll be able to maximize each other’s talent.

“On both ends on the floor and even off the floor, just be a great friend, be a great support for him and then on the court, just let that relationship carry over,” Gobert said. “Help him be the best Karl he can be and I know, just by being himself, he’s going to help me be the best Rudy I can be.”

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Gobert’s friend and fellow Frenchman Nicolas Batum said he was glad to see the longtime Jazz center dealt to Minnesota and thinks Gobert will be better off for it, as Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times tweets. “I don’t think I will say I like it because (the Wolves) beat us in the play-in last year,” Batum said. “… But just for my friend, I am happy to see him with a good team, new spot, new everything, new life for him. He needed that.”
Anthony Edwards added 11 pounds of muscle this offseason without increasing his body fat, multiples sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I feel like I’m in better shape, more than anything,” Edwards said. “That’s going to take everything to the next level.”
Within the same story, Krawczynski examines a few takeaways from the Wolves’ Media Day, including why veteran forward Kyle Anderson signed with Minnesota as a free agent and what he’ll bring to the team. “Those guys in Minnesota really competed, one through 11, 12, those guys all played really hard,” Anderson said. “You could see the cohesiveness, they played hard for one another. So when it came down to this summer and which team I wanted to sign with, I think this was an easy call.”
After working hard to keep Jaden McDaniels out of the trade package for Gobert this summer, the Timberwolves are working just as hard to unlock the young forward’s full potential, Krawczynski writes in a separate article for The Athletic. Among the interesting details in Krawczynski’s story: Minnesota determined that McDaniels’ optimal shooting arc is 47 degrees and used an app during summer workouts to ensure that he was consistently releasing it at that angle.