Donovan Mitchell on reports of tension with Rudy Gobert: That’s just not true

Ryan Miller: Donovan Mitchell on the reports he and Rudy Gobert are at odds: “No, no, no — we’re good. That’s just not true.”
Source: Twitter @millerjryan

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Ben Anderson @BensHoops
We’re going to let you hear from Donovan Mitchell in his first conversation with the media since suffering his concussion next on the @ZoneSportsNet.
Tune in now!
#TakeNote | @KSLSports
kslsports.com/thezone/ – 1:26 PM

Eric Walden @tribjazz
Donovan Mitchell just had his first media availability since his concussion. Said he developed a slight headache during the game but didn’t initially think anything of it. Said he started feeling worse throughout the night, with headaches and nausea. – 1:25 PM

Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Donovan Mitchell dismisses reports that there are problems between him and Rudy Gobert. “That’s just not true…we’re good.”
Said he just shakes his head and gets frustrated that they even have to answer questions about it – 1:21 PM

Ryan Miller @millerjryan
Donovan Mitchell on the reports he and Rudy Gobert are at odds: “No, no, no — we’re good. That’s just not true.” – 1:15 PM

Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
Donovan Mitchell on reports that he and Rudy Gobert are beefing again: no, no, no, no, no….we’re good. That’s just not true – 1:14 PM

Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Donovan Mitchell said this was his fourth concussion and second in a year. He said he experienced “excruciating” headaches and nausea. – 1:02 PM

Ryan McDonald @ryanwmcdonald
Rudy Gobert made fun of on TNT — again — for old All-Star crying https://t.co/eGNFbV5ezQ pic.twitter.com/DHCiPKqzVq – 1:00 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Draymond Green criticizes Rudy Gobert over emotional response to 2019 All-Star snub: ‘You can’t cry’ nba.nbcsports.com/2022/02/04/dra… – 11:51 AM

David Locke @DLocke09
LOCKED ON JAZZ — Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are all-stars and really good, who do we want and the biggest all-star snub – lockedonjazz.net/jazz/donovan-m… – 10:37 AM

Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
Dating back to late December (a 20-game stretch), Mitchell Robinson is averaging:
10.6 points (on 82% shooting)
9.5 rebounds,
1.5 blocks.
Only two other players are averaging at least 10.5 points, 9.5 boards and 1.5 swats during this span:
Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert. – 9:39 AM

Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Rudy Gobert should ask Draymond Green to be the presenter at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony. – 9:33 PM

Eric Koreen @ekoreen
There are exceptions, but I think despite how much coaches talk defence, they gravitate toward voting for guys they have to game plan toward stopping.
In general, it’s harder for a defensive-minded big to break through. Saw it with Gobert, and is case with Middleton over Allen. – 8:14 PM

Monte Poole @MontePooleNBCS
Draymond won’t count out the DPOY despite missing at least 25 games. Makes unnamed reference to Rudy Gobert winning it when playing 56 of 82 games in 2017-18. – 8:06 PM

Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
The most fun possible iteration of the All-Star Game would be just picking the captains and letting them draft any player in the NBA.
LeBron using the final pick on Carmelo instead of Rudy Gobert would be the absolute funniest possible Twitter moment relating to the ASG. – 7:36 PM

The Vertical @YahooSportsNBA
The 2022 #NBAAllStar West reserves are in:
🌟 Devin Booker
🌟 Luka Doncic
🌟 Rudy Gobert
🌟 Draymond Green
🌟 Donovan Mitchell
🌟 Chris Paul
🌟 Karl-Anthony Towns
Green announced he won’t be able to participate, so who should replace him? ⤵️ – 7:36 PM

Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert named All-Stars https://t.co/WqMoVKaayh pic.twitter.com/9qd5G3Ogb9 – 7:27 PM

Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
2022 NBA All-Star reserves
East
– Jimmy Butler
– Darius Garland
– James Harden
– Zach LaVine
– Khris Middleton
– Jayson Tatum
– Fred VanVleet
West
– Devin Booker
– Luka Doncic
– Rudy Gobert
– Draymond Green
– Donovan Mitchell
– Chris Paul
– Karl-Anthony Towns – 7:22 PM

The Ringer @ringernba
Rudy Gobert is GREAT defensively. The rest of the Jazz … not so much. What can Utah do to improve their perimeter defense? @Kevin O’Connor takes a look on #TheVoidNBA.
📺: https://t.co/mlXSQIFCG8 pic.twitter.com/GOQzyBiGLY – 7:20 PM

Ben Anderson @BensHoops
The Western Conference #NBAAllStar team joining the draft pool with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert:
Captain: LeBron James
Starters:
Nikola Jokic
Andrew Wiggins
Ja Morant
Steph Curry
Devin Booker
Chris Paul
Draymond Green
Karl-Anthony Towns
Luka Doncic – 7:16 PM

Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell selected as All-Star reserves – 7:11 PM

Joe Vardon @joevardon
Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green, and Karl-Anthony Towns are coming to Cleveland as All-Star reserves from the West. Green will not be able to play due to injury. @The Athletic – 7:10 PM

Eric Walden @tribjazz
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and guard Donovan Mitchell have been selected NBA All-Stars for a third straight season. sltrib.com/sports/jazz/20… – 7:10 PM

Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes
The 2022 Western Conference All-Star reserves are Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green, Chris Paul and Donovan Mitchell. – 7:08 PM

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
2022 NBA West All-Star reserves: Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, Karl-Anthony Towns. – 7:07 PM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
7 West All-Star reserves:
1. Booker
2. Luka
3. Gobert
4. Draymond
5. Mitchell
6. Paul
7. KAT – 7:07 PM

Ryan Miller @millerjryan
Donovan Mitchell joins Gobert as a Western Conference reserve. Mitchell’s 3rd appearance in 5 seasons. – 7:07 PM

Eric Walden @tribjazz
And Donovan Mitchell has been selected as an All-Star as well. – 7:07 PM

Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell both named NBA All-Star reserves. – 7:06 PM

Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
Donovan Mitchell makes his third consecutive all-star game – 7:06 PM

Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Donovan Mitchell clears concussion protocol is available to play against Nets on Friday https://t.co/WRUZDpdKAR pic.twitter.com/hnNs6dNVIM – 7:05 PM

Ryan Miller @millerjryan
Rudy Gobert makes his 3rd straight All-Star Game. – 7:05 PM

Eric Walden @tribjazz
Rudy Gobert is official as an NBA All-Star reserve – 7:05 PM

Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
Rudy Gobert makes his third consecutive all-star game – 7:04 PM

Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
My All-Star choices
East:
G: Fred VanVleet
G: Zach LaVine
FC: Jimmy Butler
FC: Jayson Tatum
FC: Khris Middleton
WC: James Harden
WC: Jrue Holiday
West:
G: Chris Paul
G: Devin Booker
FC: Rudy Gobert
FC: Draymond Green
FC: Karl-Anthony Towns
WC: Donovan Mitchell
WC: Luka Doncic – 6:32 PM

Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Jazz Injury Report (as of 2/3)
OUT – Rudy Gobert
OUT – Danuel House
OUT – Joe Ingles
QUESTIONABLE – Jordan Clarkson
QUESTIONABLE – Hassan Whiteside
*Donovan Mitchell has officially cleared the NBA concussion protocol* – 6:26 PM

Ryan Miller @millerjryan
Mitchell is available for tomorrow’s game against Brooklyn.
Rudy Gobert is and Danuel House remain out. Hassan Whiteside and Jordan Clarkson are questionable – 6:25 PM

Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Donovan Mitchell has cleared the NBA concussion protocol – 6:24 PM

Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Jazz Injury Report:
OUT – Rudy Gobert (Left Calf Strain)
OUT – Danuel House (COVID)
OUT – Joe Ingles (ACL)
QUESTIONABLE – Jordan Clarkson (Knee Soreness)
QUESTIONABLE – Hassan Whiteside (Low Back Strain)
And: Donovan Mitchell has officially cleared the NBA concussion protocol – 6:24 PM

Ryan Miller @millerjryan
Donovan Mitchell has cleared concussion protocol. – 6:24 PM

Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
Donovan Mitchell has officially cleared concussion protocol – 6:24 PM

Eric Walden @tribjazz
Donovan Mitchell has cleared the concussion protocol. – 6:24 PM

Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has cleared the NBA’s concussion protocol and is available for tomorrow’s game vs. Nets, per team. Rudy Gobert (calf) remains out, but sources tell ESPN the All-NBA big man hopes to return early next week. – 6:23 PM

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
Donovan Mitchell has cleared the league’s concussion protocol, Jazz say. – 6:22 PM

Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
Jerami Grant and Harrison Barnes are two of the players the Jazz have had trade talks for, league sources say. With one week to go until the trade deadline, Utah is targeting wings that can defend. Here’s my video on Utah’s need for more quality defenders around Rudy Gobert: – 2:07 PM

More on this storyline

The last couple of days has been full of petty sniping back and forth in press conferences: first, Gobert noted how the Jazz didn’t have the winning habits of the teams above them in the Western Conference, the Warriors and the Suns. Then, he noted how impressed he was with Devin Booker’s defense with the Suns over the last couple of years. If you don’t think that’s a shot at Mitchell’s defense, well, I have a bridge to sell you, you poor gullible sweetheart. But Mitchell (and Clarkson), who liked Gobert’s tweet, didn’t exactly come off any better. When they were asked about Gobert’s comments, they gave fairly passive-aggressive comments themselves. And honestly, the quotes from those two, while not benign in verbiage, undersold the annoyance that was apparent in their voices. Oh, and of course, there’s the fact that Gobert, at heart, was basically right about their defense — one way to get Gobert to stop being honest about the team’s bad defense is to just play better defense. -via Salt Lake Tribune / January 17, 2022

Eric Walden: Donovan noted that having 3 days off from games, and having the time to be able to sit down and watch film together, plus get in a few practices helped iron out a lot of the communication issues. -via Twitter @tribjazz / January 17, 2022

“That’s the team that we know we can be,” Gobert said. “It’s exciting to see that we have another gear that we can tap into. But this is what we are going to have to bring every single night. “It was important for us to come out tonight and play the right way. It’s a long season, and we know that everything is not always going to be perfect. We know that we are going to have some tough stretches. But if we can keep getting better, we feel like we are going to be in great shape come playoff time. It’s exciting to see what we are capable of doing. So we need to keep building great habits.” -via The Athletic / January 17, 2022