The coronavirus pandemic surely strained the relationship between Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and young star Donovan Mitchell — though their relationship had already shown a few dents, even before the virus hit.
According a high-ranking Jazz executive, the relationship between the two vital cogs was a “2 out of 10 on the NBA drama scale,” per ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
There had long been friction between the two, as Gobert, who had started to establish himself as the franchise cornerstone, saw a young Mitchell quickly take over that mantle in his first year in the league.
That friction grew once Gobert became the first NBA player to test positive for the virus and Mitchell was the next to follow, testing positive the next day. Gobert had been ill-advised and reckless during practice and in the locker room, even infamously touching all the team's microphones after his player availability — mocking the danger of it.
Mitchell was disappointed in Gobert and admitted “it took me a while to kind of cool off,” during an interview with Robin Roberts of Good Morning America.
The two spent weeks without talking to each other, which will likely play a part in ratcheting up that drama scale a few turns.
Jazz officials have been confident the two can iron out their issues:
“Right now, we're good,” said Mitchell in a recent virtual news conference with reporters. “We're going [to Orlando] ready to hoop.”
Gobert's thoughts were similar:
“The virus or not, it's never perfect,” said the Jazz big. “Relationships are never perfect. The most important thing is to have respect for one another.”
The two could find a way to bond again through basketball, though should things go spiraling through the restart, that drama scale might need an update in the near future.
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