Much has been made about Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert and his supposed beef with Draymond Green. Earlier in the season, the Golden State Warriors superstar sounded off on comparisons between himself and Gobert, which some folks took as a sign of disrespect from Green.
Gobert has now broken his silence about his current relationship with Green and according to the Jazz star, there really is no brewing feud between them:
“Our relationship is what he's saying about me ‘coz I'm not talking about him,” Gobert told Taylor Rooks on an excluive interview for Bleacher Report. “When I see him in person he's always real nice and respectful. As long as that stay the same, you know.”
To be fair to Green, he didn't exactly talk down on Gobert. All he said was that he thought they had nothing in common and that the comparisons were unwarranted. As Gobert revealed in his statement above, they remain cordial whenever they see each other in person.
Gobert then went on to express what all this noise means to him. It's not as if Draymond Green was the first person to criticize Gobert in his career so, at this point, the Jazz center has learned how to take all these in stride:
“Things being said about me on podcasts, it's not just Draymond, it's a lot of guys that try to discredit what I do every night or who I am as a player. It's part of it. For me, I will always take that as respect. If I was an average defensive player or an average player, they wouldn't be talking about me, right? So I would always take that as respect.”
Gobert is definitely the high road type of guy. He is well aware of the negativity that is thrown at him and he does not completely disregard them. Instead, he uses them as fuel to get better at his craft. One thing he remains proud of is that he's always been consistent about not talking smack about other players. It's a one-way street for him and he doesn't really mind all the hate:
“So for me, I'm never going to talk down on anyone,” he said. “I respect all these guys… If you disrespect me in person, that's a different story. But you can say whatever you want about me.
“Every time I talk about Draymond and anybody else, I show respect. If these guys want to disrespect me it's their choice. And I take that as respect.”
Rudy Gobert wasn't born yesterday and he knows why these types of narratives are so sellable. He admitted that he too is vulnerable to these rather scandalous storylines, and as such, he completely understands why the media is making such a big deal about his supposed beef with Green:
“People love beefs,” he said. “Beef generates more interaction. Even me, when you watch a video and there's a fight or something, you wanna watch, right? It's more interesting. So I get it. But I'm chilling.”
To close out the subject, Gobert came out with a sweeping statement about his true feelings towards Draymond Green and to anyone else that has been talking about him in a negative light:
“I don't have a beef with anyone,” he stated.
As they always say, haters gotta hate. Rudy Gobert is clearly a firm believer in this notion.
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