Since the closure of the NBA (and, really, all sports) was sped up after Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, an interesting plotline emerged about the impact Gobert's alleged reckless actions had on his relationship with his Jazz teammates.
While several members of the team had gripes, Donovan Mitchell also tested positive, which reportedly caused a rift between the two stars.
While you might think it's usually irrational-but-understandable to be angry at somebody who you think got you sick, Gobert made headlines for not taking the virus seriously. He has since apologized.
NBA insiders went so far as to call their relationship "unsalvageable."
"[T]he Jazz are fortunate that they don’t have to get back together and start playing games again right now," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski told Scott Van Pelt back in mid-March. "There is a lot of work to do to repair relationships – not just between Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, but others in the locker room. There’s a lot of frustration with Gobert."
Mitchell appeared on Good Morning America recently, and revealed that it "took a while" for him to "cool off" following the unfortunate diagnosis.
That whole recap brings us to Sunday, when Gobert talked to Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks about where he and Mitchell stand now.
"It is true that we didn't speak for awhile," Gobert said after Rooks asked him about the alleged rift. "But we did [speak] a few days ago and, like I said, we're both ready to go out there and try to win a championship for this team. It's all about being a professional and everyone's got different relationships. It's never perfect. People who are married, it's never perfect. So me and my teammate, it's far from perfect. But at the end of the day we both want the same thing. It's winning. We're both grown men. And we're both going to do what it takes to win."
Gobert reiterated that reports on the two have been overblown. Quotes without body language are often difficult to interpret, so you can watch his answer and read into it as you will:
Furthermore, Yahoo's Chris Haynes tweeted out that the conversation was a sign that the relationship was at least getting a little better:
Let this all serve as a hand washing PSA.
