Donovan Mitchell on Rudy Gobert: 'I Don't Hate Him, and He Doesn't Hate Me'
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert have moved on to different teams, and the guard explained there is no lingering hatred between the former Utah Jazz teammates.
"Honestly, basketball just didn't work," he said, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. "We live in such a world where it has to be really negative. Basketball just didn't work. We didn't see eye to eye. We wanted to both win, but we wanted to do it two different ways. It didn't work. But as far as him and I go as people, I don't hate him, and he doesn't hate me."
Mitchell also said he will hug Gobert when they see each other, adding: "There's no hatred. There's no ill will towards any of that."
Still, there was no shortage of reports about tension between the two star players when they were together with the Jazz. Utah traded Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves this past offseason.
The pair played five seasons together and made the playoffs each time. However, the Jazz never made it past the second round during that stretch. It seemed like they finally would in 2020-21 when they finished with the best record in the NBA, but they lost to the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers in the second round.
Mitchell's Cavaliers are 21-11, which is the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Perhaps he can make a conference final in his first season without Gobert.
