Rudy Gobert takes swing at teammate, sent home from game
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Former Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was sent home from the regular season finale of his new team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, on Sunday after he swung at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout.
The incident occurred during the second quarter of the Timberwolves’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans in Minnesota, a contest that had playoff implications between the two teams.
Video of the incident showed Gobert and Anderson arguing, and then Gobert reached over numerous teammates to hit Anderson.
That led to Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince pushing Gobert, and a brief dust-up occurred as the situation got cleared up.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported that Minnesota sent Gobert home after the incident, and according to multiple outlets, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly released a statement which read, “We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the incident in the second quarter. His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will continue handling the situation internally.”
The Jazz traded Gobert to the Timberwolves last summer for a huge haul, but this season has largely been a disappointment for Minnesota.
It finished the regular season with a 42-40 record after beating the Pelicans on Sunday, and will face the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Timberwolves are the 8 seed in the Western Conference, meaning they will have to beat the Lakers and then the winner of a matchup between the Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder to advance to the playoffs.
Jace Frederick of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that Minnesota head coach Chris Finch said after the game that the decision on Gobert’s availability for Tuesday’s game “will be handled internally” and that the Frenchman’s behavior is “certainly not something we condone.”
The Jazz will receive Minnesota’s first-round draft pick this year as part of the Gobert trade.