There was always going to be drama on the final day of the NBA regular season. But punching your own teammate kind of drama? That was unexpected.
But that is exactly what the Minnesota Timberwolves had to deal with ahead of the play-in tournament after Rudy Gobert lashed out at teammate Kyle Anderson.
The incident took place during a second-quarter timeout against the Pelicans, with Gobert escorted to the locker room and later sent home.
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“We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the incident in the second quarter,” Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said.
“His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will continue handling the situation internally.”
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the pair traded verbal jabs before the altercation became physical after Anderson told Gober to “shut the f*** up b***h”.
“Why don’t you block some shots,” Anderson is also reported to have said.
“Why don’t you grab a rebound,” Gobert is said to have responded.
Anderson spoke to reporters post-game about the incident, admititng it is not the “first time something like it has happened”.
“Tempers flare, you’re in the middle of a game, a game we want to win,” Anderson said.
“it is what it is. S*** happens. It’s not the first time something like that has happened.”
Timberwolves guard Mike Conley told reporters post-game that Gobert had already sent a message to the team group chat apologising and that the squad was keen to move forward.
That suggests Gobert could in fact still suit up for Minnesota in its play-in game against the Lakers.
Timberwolves beat reporter Chris Hine had been working on a story about Anderson’s leadership and had actually asked Gobert about his teammate’s blunt approach on Sunday.
“Kyle wants to win, and sometimes he’s a little aggressive in the way he talks but I don’t take it personally,” Gobert told Hine.
“I receive it in a positive way because it comes from a place of wanting me to be the best Rudy I can be and wanting us to win. I love his competitiveness, love the way he plays the game. The way he makes others around him better. He’s been a huge part of this year.”
The Timberwolves had seemingly turned a corner recently after struggling with chemistry issues early in the season following Gobert’s arrival and an injury to Karl-Anthony Towns.
Minnesota gave up plenty to get Gobert on the team in the first place, trading five players to Utah along with one pick swap and four first-round picks, three of which are unprotected.
Only adding to Minnesota’s woes was a self-inflicted injury for Jaden McDaniels, who broke his right hand punching a wall in frustration.
