Rudy Gobert Talks November Apology to Wolves over Frustration with Julius Randle

The 21-19 Minnesota Timberwolves have struggled to get on the same page at times after making a monstrous offseason trade that brought in Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo from the New York Knicks for Karl-Anthony Towns.

That was apparent on Nov. 21 with just under five minutes remaining in the team's 110-105 road loss to the Toronto Raptors, when Minnesota center Rudy Gobert committed an offensive three-second violation before a foul on the other end after apparently seeming annoyed that Randle didn't feed him the ball in the paint.

Two months later, Gobert spoke about his reaction, his ensuing apology and the team's ongoing efforts to improve chemistry.

"No matter the reason, my reaction was not the reaction of a leader, so I apologized for that," Gobert said to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

"You lose one of your top players and you bring some other very good players and things don't happen overnight. It comes with putting the work in every day and the belief in one another and the belief in who we are.

"All these things, that's called chemistry, and a lot of it you only figure it out while you're going through some mistakes."

Minnesota has had four losing streaks of three games or more and four winning streaks of three games or more, so it's been a roller coaster season to say the least.

The Timberwolves reached the Western Conference Finals last year after a 56-win campaign. That playoff run featured a second-round victory over the then-defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

However, the Timberwolves opted to deal Towns in what amounted to a cost-cutting move, specifically to save money on a luxury tax bill, as ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted last September.

The new Timberwolves roster hasn't worked out, at least not yet. The team alternates between appearing to figure it out and remaining mired in mediocrity.

At this moment, Minnesota is a game behind the sixth-place Los Angeles Lakers (who hold the Western Conference's last confirmed playoff spot) and a game ahead of the Golden State Warriors (the first team out of the play-in picture).

It's not getting any easier for Minnesota, though. The team's next seven games are all against squads with .500 records or better, including the 34-6 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Up next, though, is a date with the Knicks, meaning a return to New York on Friday for Randle and DiVincenzo. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.