Rudy Gobert Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Jokic, Nuggets, Gobert, Thunder

May 10th, 2023 at 2:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Superstar center Nikola Jokic had another huge game on Tuesday as the Nuggets took a 3-2 lead in their series with Phoenix, racking up 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists for his fourth triple-double of the playoffs. Jokic’s 10th career postseason triple-double moved him ahead of Wilt Chamberlain for the most triple-doubles by a center in NBA playoff history, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

Discussing Jokic’s historic performance after the game, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone made light of the in-season discourse surrounding his center’s triple-doubles, joking that he “must be stat-padding.” Malone also made sure to stress how much the franchise appreciates Jokic and his “incredible” performance.

“He makes everyone around him better,” Malone said. “Never gets rattled. ‘Cool Hand Luke.’ And we’re just so thankful that he’s a Denver Nugget.”

Between Games 4 and 5, Jokic was hit with a $25K fine for a brief sideline incident involving Suns owner Mat Ishbia, but Jokic and Ishbia had a friendly exchange prior to Game 5 and clearly don’t have any bad blood, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. During a TNT interview after Tuesday’s win, Jokic was asked about that pregame interaction with Ishbia and joked that he was trying to see if the Suns owner would pay his fine (Twitter link via Youngmisuk).

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

As great as Jokic has been against Phoenix, the contributions of the Nuggets‘ role players – starting with a pair of veterans acquired last summer – shouldn’t be overlooked, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). Bruce Brown‘s 25 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s strong defense on Devin Booker helped Denver secure a Game 5 victory.
While fans in Minnesota were upset about Jaden McDaniels‘ absence from this year’s All-Defensive teams, the bigger concern for the Timberwolves is that Rudy Gobert‘s play this past season didn’t earn the three-time Defensive Player of the Year a single vote, says Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. It remains to be seen whether Gobert was more affected by health issues than he let on his year or whether his decline has begun, Rand writes.
Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman believes it’s unlikely that the Thunder dip into their stash of future draft picks to make a trade for a core player this offseason. In Mussatto’s view, head of basketball operations Sam Presti is more likely to use his draft assets to make sure he gets the player(s) he wants in this year’s draft, like he did when he traded three protected first-rounders for the No. 11 pick in the 2022 draft.

Northwest Notes: Gordon, Malone, Gobert, Doncic

May 4th, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nuggets don’t expect Aaron Gordon to shut down Kevin Durant, but his defensive effort so far has played a large role in Denver’s 2-0 series lead, writes Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. Durant has scored 29 and 24 points in the first two games of the series, but he’s had to work hard to get those points. He shot 10-for-27 from the field in Game 2 and was just 2-for-12 from beyond the arc.

Gordon’s defense is a big part of that effort, Keeler adds. In the 17 minutes that he has been Durant’s primary defender during the series, Gordon has limited the Suns‘ star to 8-of-20 from the floor and 1-of-5 on three-pointers with just two free throws and five turnovers. That follows a similar defensive performance against Karl-Anthony Towns in the first round.

“The thing that jumps out to me in these playoffs is (that) Aaron is the definition of selfless,” coach Michael Malone said. “I mean, talk about a guy that, knowing that (Michael Porter Jr.) and Jamal (Murray) were back, has checked his ego at the door the whole season and he quietly goes under the radar. But the impact he is having is so profound both on offense and defense, (especially) by taking the other team’s best player (defensively).”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Malone is warning his players not to get too comfortable after two wins at home, per Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. The Nuggets appear to have control of the series, especially with Chris Paul unlikely to play in at least the next two games, but Malone understands that things can turn around quickly. “Whether it’s Chris Paul, Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet, our game plan remains the same,” he said. “We know that they have two guys in Devin Booker and Kevin Durant that are great players and they’ll have their home crowd in front of them. Down 2-0, we’re going to get their best effort and we have to exceed that.”
Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reexamines the Rudy Gobert trade that transformed the Timberwolves last summer. He acknowledges that Minnesota overpaid for Gobert, but adds that president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and coach Chris Finch still believe Gobert and Towns can be effective together. “I thought it was a great learning experience and I’m excited to see (with) some real time together where we can get,” Gobert said. “And we saw some glimpses of that this year and we saw that we can give teams a lot of trouble.”
In a discussion of the Nets’ offseason, John Hollinger of the Athletic states that the Jazz are “keeping a very interested eye” on Luka Doncic‘s situation in Dallas. If Doncic were to ask the Mavericks for a trade, Utah has a huge parcel of draft assets to offer.

Wolves Notes: Edwards, McDaniels, Reid, Gobert, Finch, Connelly

April 27th, 2023 at 2:41pm CST by Rory Maher

As former first-round picks entering their fourth seasons, Timberwolves wings Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels will be eligible for rookie scale extensions this summer. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly didn’t hesitate when asked if the team would commit to the two young players, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

When the Wolves are permitted to have extension discussions with Edwards and McDaniels, both players will have “really, really nice offers with a lot of money in their inbox,” Connelly said.

Edwards is highly likely to receive a rookie scale max extension after emerging as the team’s best player in 2022/23, while McDaniels could potentially get a nine-figure offer himself — particularly with the addition of a fifth year on non-max rookie extensions — following a career season.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Edwards’ attorney released a statement saying the guard intends to fight the “baseless” assault charges he’s facing in Denver, Hine writes for The Star Tribune. “With the game over, Anthony’s exit from the court was partially obstructed by a chair, which he moved and set down three steps later,” attorney Harvey Steinberg said via Klutch Sports, Edwards’ agency. “As video of the incident confirms, Anthony did not swing the chair at anyone and of course did not intend to hurt anyone. Despite these innocent facts, the Denver Police Department inexplicably chose to charge Anthony with two counts of misdemeanor assault. Anthony intends to vigorously defend against these baseless charges.”
Both Connelly and head coach Chris Finch said that bringing back reserve big man Naz Reid will be a top priority for the Wolves, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). Reid will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension. The 23-year-old averaged career highs in points per game (11.5), rebounds (4.9) and field goal percentage (53.7%), but missed the end of the regular season and postseason after fracturing his left wrist, which required surgery.
Center Rudy Gobert has been a mainstay for the French national team in international play, but he says he’s not sure if he’ll compete in the World Cup, which starts in late August, per Krawczynski (Twitter link). The three-time Defensive Player of the Year added that he wants to “come back like I want to have the best year of my career next season. I know that this summer I’m going to put myself in position that I’ve never put myself in before.”
It certainly sounds like Finch’s job will be safe entering next season, as Connelly called the coach and his staff “elite,” tweets Krawczynski. As for the rumors linking Connelly to the Wizards‘ front office opening, he says he’s “pretty committed to the Minnesota Timberwolves right now” and is focused on advancing in the playoffs and building for the future (Twitter video link via SneakerReporter, who covers the Wolves).

Timberwolves Notes: Gobert, Towns, Edwards, McDaniels, Free Agents

April 26th, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves‘ experiment of playing two big men together has been questioned ever since Rudy Gobert was acquired from Utah last summer to team with Karl-Anthony Towns. Even though Minnesota was eliminated from the playoffs in five games, coach Chris Finch‘s comments show that the organization is committed to making the pairing successful, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“They’re both really incredibly good basketball players,” Finch said after Tuesday’s Game 5 loss. “With the skill level that KAT has, for sure, there’s no reason basketball-wise that it shouldn’t work. There’s a lot of things we can talk about about why the learning curve was so steep for it. But the most important thing is we have a big enough body of work, I think we can properly evaluate it. I still remain extremely confident we’re able to maximize those guys.”

Finch indicated that he’ll consider changes to the offense this summer, and Krawczynski notes that Towns and Gobert will have an opportunity to work together during the offseason. Towns had an illness at the start of training camp and missed 52 games during the season with a calf injury, so their acclimation process was interrupted.

Krawczynski observes that the Wolves took a step backward in rebounding despite having two natural centers in their starting lineup. He states that being outrebounded in last year’s playoffs prompted the deal for Gobert, but Minnesota fell to 27th in rebounding percentage this season after finishing 21st last year.

“It’s going to take a lot better habits from our perimeter players boxing out, to be quite honest with you,” Finch said of the rebounding issue. “It has to be a big point of emphasis.”

There’s more on the Timberwolves:

An extension for Anthony Edwards will be among the team’s offseason priorities, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link). The All-Star guard is eligible for a five-year deal worth a projected $207MM, but that could rise to $249MM if he makes an All-NBA team. Marks points out that a maximum-salary extension for Edwards would make Minnesota the only team with three max players when it kicks in during the 2024/25 season. The Wolves will also consider a rookie scale extension for forward Jaden McDaniels, who is considered a candidate to make an All-Defensive team, Marks adds.
Trade speculation surrounding Towns, whose four-year, $224MM super-max extension takes effect in 2024/25, could get much louder over the next year, per Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype. Towns will become trade-eligible in July, and Gozlan points out that he’s a logical trade option if the Wolves want to keep Edwards and McDaniels and there’s no market for Gobert.
The Timberwolves may find it too expensive to keep both Naz Reid and Jaylen Nowell in free agency, Gozlan adds. He expects Reid to get offers for the full mid-level exception, which is projected to be $52.5MM over four years.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Gobert, Jokic, Thunder

April 19th, 2023 at 8:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

To be competitive against Denver, the Timberwolves will need more production from star guard Anthony Edwards, whose numbers have been down since he missed three games with a sprained ankle last month, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. In 11 games since returning, Edwards is shooting just 41.5% from the field and 30% on three-pointers. That includes a rough 6-for-15 outing as Minnesota lost Game 1 of its playoff series by 29 points.

Since the injury, Edwards has also lacked the explosiveness that typically defines his game, Krawczynski adds, forcing him to settle for more jumpers due to a diminished ability to get to the rim. The Nuggets also contributed to his off night as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown made him work to get off his preferred shots.

Edwards, whose swagger defines the Wolves’ attitude on the court, says the team needs to get more aggressive to have a chance in the series.

“We’ve got to be more physical,” he said. “They was bumping us all over the floor. They really punked us Game 1, I would say, so we’ve got to come out, get some hard fouls or something, get the game going.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert said his back feels much better after spending two off days in Denver, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Gobert, who has been dealing with back spasms since late in the regular season, said there’s a “night and day” difference since Sunday’s game, although he’s still not 100%.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is listed as questionable with a sprained right wrist, but coach Michael Malone is confident that the two-time MVP will be able to play tonight, tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post. In a pre-game meeting with reporters, Malone said he has “no concerns” about Jokic’s condition.
After a surprise season that included a spot in the play-in tournament, the Thunder have plenty of options to upgrade their roster this summer, per Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype. Years of stockpiling draft assets have left Oklahoma City with 15 first-rounders over the next seven seasons. The Thunder also have nearly $30MM in cap space and could get close to $36MM by waiving Isaiah Joe, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Aaron Wiggins, and Lindy Waters III, who all have non-guaranteed contracts. Gozlan suggests that one offseason priority may be a rookie-scale extension with Aleksej Pokusevski, who was showing improvement before suffering a season-ending leg fracture.

Injury Updates: Morant, Payne, James, Davis, George, Gobert, Jokic

April 18th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant is officially listed as questionable to play in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Lakers, the team’s PR department tweets. Morant is dealing with right hand soreness. He landed hard on the court while committing a charge during the fourth quarter of Game 1.

Adrian Wojnarowski said on the “NBA on ESPN” show that he “does not sense a great deal of optimism” that Morant will play on Wednesday (Twitter link). An MRI on Monday revealed an aggravation of soft tissue bruising in Morant’s hand. He originally injured the hand in the Grizzlies’ April 7 win over Milwaukee, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

We have more injury-related updates:

Suns reserve guard Cameron Payne won’t play in Game 2 against the Clippers on Tuesday, Chris Haynes of TNT tweets. Payne hasn’t played since April 7 due to a back injury.
Both members of the Lakers’ dynamic duo popped up on the injury report submitted the team’s PR department, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. However, they are listed as probable for Game 2 against Memphis, with LeBron James dealing with right foot soreness and Anthony Davis nursing a right foot stress injury.
Clippers forward Paul George did a mix of conditioning and shooting drills during a workout prior to the team’s shootaround on Tuesday, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reports. George is recovering from a sprained right knee and it remains uncertain whether he’ll play at all during the first-round series.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is listed as questionable to play in Game 2 of their series against the Nuggets on Wednesday due to back spasms, the team’s PR department tweets.
While it would be surprising if he didn’t play in Game 2, Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is also listed as questionable due to a right wrist sprain, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Jokic participated in practice on Tuesday and didn’t seem to think the sprain was overly serious.

Western Notes: Lindsey, Udoka, Borrego, Westbrook, Holmgren, Blazers, Towns

April 17th, 2023 at 9:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks are in advanced discussions with former Jazz executive Dennis Lindsey to join the organization as a special assistant to GM Nico Harrison, Marc Stein of the Stein Line reports (via Twitter). Harrison has been seeking an experienced sounding-board voice to join the front office in a consultant’s role, dating to last offseason.

Following their failure to make the playoffs, the Mavericks have a pivotal offseason that includes trying to re-sign Kyrie Irving and finding ways to improve the roster, despite limited trade assets and salary cap issues.

We have more on the Western Conference:

The Rockets will interview former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka for their head coaching job on Wednesday, Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweets. They interviewed former Hornets head coach James Borrego on Monday for their head coaching job, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. The Rockets have already interviewed former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel and are expected to interview a number of experienced head coaches and prominent assistant coaches in their search to replace Stephen Silas.
Russell Westbrook is unlikely to be suspended for Game 2 of the Clippers’ series against the Suns, Chris Haynes of TNT tweets. Westbrook had a verbal altercation with a fan during halftime of Game 1 on Sunday.
Chet Holmgren missed the entire season due to a Lisfranc injury in his right foot but the Thunder big man is ready to get back on the court, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, says most of the recovery and rehab process is behind him. “I’m pretty much past the rehab part of this journey,” Holmgren said, “and now I’m progressing more into the 5-on-5 stuff and kind of taking away any restrictions that I have to this point.”
There could be a major change with the Trail Blazers’ guard rotation, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian notes. General manager Joe Cronin must decide whether Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe are part of the team’s long-term plans. Either or both could be traded for the All-Star level talent that Damian Lillard craves. Conversely, Simons and Sharpe could be the backcourt starters if Lillard is dealt and Portland goes into a full rebuild.
The Timberwolves will look to bounce back from their 29-point loss to top seed Denver when they play Game 2 on Wednesday. They’ll need a huge series from Karl-Anthony Towns to have any chance in the series, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details.
The matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets could show just how far the Timberwolves are from becoming a true contender and whether the Towns-Rudy Gobert pairing can get them to that point, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune opines.

Injury Notes: Wolves, Murray, Middleton, George

April 14th, 2023 at 9:00pm CST by Rory Maher

The Timberwolves will have both of their three-time All-Star big men active for Friday’s final play-in game against the Thunder, Minnesota announced (via Twitter). Rudy Gobert (back spasms) and Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) were upgraded from questionable to available and will start, per the team.

Wolves guard Jaylen Nowell, who was previously questionable with left knee tendinopathy, will also be active. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News was first to report (via Twitter) that Nowell would be ready to go.

In an interesting rotational change, the Wolves are inserting Nickeil Alexander-Walker into the starting lineup for the first time to defend his cousin, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“They’re cousins, so there should be familiarity there but we like Nickeil’s ability to go get him full court and his size on him,” head coach Chris Finch said before the game (Twitter link via Alan Horton of Wolves Radio).

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray continues to be hampered by a nagging right thumb sprain on his shooting hand, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber link). “I’m still thinking about it,” Murray said. “I’m full participating (in practice). It’s just sore. Every catch, every shot, I’m always fiddling with it trying to make it feel better, but it’ll be OK.” Denver’s second-leading scorer has been dealing with the injury for a few weeks, Singer adds, but he’s otherwise healthy and feeling ready for the playoffs.
Khris Middleton, a three-time All-Star for the Bucks, was a full practice participant on Thursday, according to an Associated Press report (link via ESPN). Middleton experienced discomfort in his right knee on April 5 against Chicago, causing him to leave the game early. Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton were partial practice participants, per The AP — both players are dealing with right ankle sprains, causing them to miss the final few games of the regular season (four for Allen, three for Connaughton). The Bucks will face the Heat in their first-round playoff series after Miami defeated Chicago and advanced as the No. 8 seed in the East.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters, including Law Murray of The Athletic, that star wing Paul George, who has been out since March 21 after suffering a right knee sprain, is making progress in his recovery. However, the team won’t rush him back for its first-round series against Phoenix, with Lue saying the Clippers need George to be “close to 100 percent” in order to prevent a possible re-injury. While there’s no official timeline for George’s return, a source tells Murray the veteran forward is targeting a potential second-round return, assuming the Clippers advance (Twitter link).

Timberwolves Notes: Gobert, Back, Anderson, Offseason

April 13th, 2023 at 6:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert rejoined the team on Thursday after being suspended for Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Lakers, writes Dave Campbell of The Associated Press.

However, Gobert remains hampered by the back spams that he was experiencing on Sunday when he got into an altercation with Kyle Anderson that led to his suspension. He said he probably wouldn’t have been able to suit up on Tuesday either way, and his status for Friday’s matchup against the Thunder is up in the air.

“‘Still pretty sore, still not moving like I would like to be able to move, but small progress every day,” Gobert said.

Gobert, Jaylen Nowell (left knee tendinopathy) and Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) are all questionable for Friday’s game, the team announced (via Twitter).

As for his relationship with Anderson, Gobert says they’ve moved past the incident, according to Campbell.

“We both apologized to each other and you move on. That’s life,” Gobert said. “It’s different when you have millions of people all watching videos and have an opinion on things that happened, but that we can’t control. What we can control is the respect that we have for each other and our relationship.

“I still love Kyle. He’s still my brother. I tell people, ‘Sometimes you fight with your family. Sometimes you fight with people that you have a lot of love and respect for.’ It’s life. No one is perfect. Mistakes happen and then you grow and you move on.”

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Anderson told reporters prior to Tuesday’s game that he and Gobert had moved on by Sunday night, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “We definitely hashed it out,” Anderson said. “That happens all the time in sports. I feel like people are acting like they’ve never seen it before. We’re grown men. We’re able to put it behind us. We both want to win. We spoke about it that night and just seeing how everything is playing out is kind of lame, honestly. We’re teammates at the end of the day. I don’t want it to be a Kyle vs. Rudy thing. That’s never the case. I always got my teammates’ back, and we moved on.”
Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune downplays the significance of Friday’s play-in game against the Thunder, as he doesn’t think the Wolves stand a chance against the top-seeded Nuggets anyway even if they win and advance as the No. 8 seed. However, Souhan does believe it could be a critical moment in Gobert’s career, writing that the center’s “remarkable immaturity” on Sunday was just the latest in a string of questionable decisions the 30-year-old has made over the past few years.
The altercation between Gobert and Anderson wasn’t the only unfortunate incident on Sunday — Jaden McDaniels punched a wall out of frustration after picking up a couple early fouls and broke his hand. Did those events — combined with the team’s inconsistent play and a limited sample size of the Gobert/Towns pairing — make the Wolves’ offseason plans even more complicated? Michael Rand and Patrick Reusse of The Star Tribune explored that topic in a recent podcast.
Anderson’s on-court versatility and strong defense were key factors in the Wolves finishing with a winning record in 2022/23 despite missing Towns for most of the season. Anderson’s blunt yet effective communication style also played a role in the team’s success, as Hine writes for the Star Tribune.

Rudy Gobert Receives One-Game Suspension, Out Vs. Lakers

April 10th, 2023 at 1:23pm CST by Rory Maher

1:23pm: The Wolves officially confirmed Gobert’s one-game suspension in a press release.

12:36pm: Rudy Gobert isn’t traveling with the Timberwolves and will not compete in the play-in game against the Lakers on Tuesday after receiving a one-game suspension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

Gobert is expected to return for the following game(s), whether that’s another play-in contest or a first-round playoff series, Wojnarowski adds.

According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Wolves decided to suspend Gobert after reviewing his altercation with Kyle Anderson on Sunday, when Gobert took a swing at his frontcourt teammate. The two players continued to argue at halftime, with Gobert ultimately getting sent home by the team.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year was experiencing back spasms that hindered his mobility, but was pushed to play yesterday due to the importance of the game. Reports indicated that Anderson profanely told Gobert to play better defense, which evidently caused Gobert to punch Anderson in the left shoulder/chest area. The veteran center subsequently privately and publicly apologized, but obviously the team didn’t take his actions lightly.

The Wolves will also be without Jaden McDaniels for the rest of the season after he broke his hand punching a wall. The third-year forward was frustrated after picking up two early fouls. Backup center Naz Reid is expected to miss several weeks as well following wrist surgery to repair a fracture.

Despite being down two starters for the majority of the game, Minnesota wound up defeating New Orleans in a close, back-and-forth game. The victory clinched the No. 8 seed entering the play-in tournament for the Wolves, while the Pelicans fell to No. 9.

The winner of the Lakers/Wolves matchup will advance as the No. 7 seed and play Memphis in the first round. The loser will play the winner of Wednesday’s Pelicans/Thunder matchup on Friday for a chance at the No. 8 seed.