Timberwolves insider says D'Angelo Russell was 'very frustrated' with Rudy Gobert
An inability to connect on the court with Rudy Gobert allegedly led to feelings of frustration that D'Angelo Russell struggled to keep to himself.
In an interview with KFAN's Dan Barreiro on Thursday, Minnesota Timberwolves insider Jon Krawczynski, of The Athletic, described the "uncomfortable" situation that allegedly bubbled up inside the locker room and on the court.
"I do think that there were some chemistry issues. I don't think it was Jimmy Butler level. I don't think it was a 5-alarm fire or anything like that, but it was very clear to me, really for much of the season, but especially over the last 3 or 4 weeks, the team in general has had issues with incorporating Rudy Gobert," Krawczynski began. "
D'Lo wore those issues on his sleeve. He was very frustrated – often – with Rudy. With him not being able to catch some passes, with him missing layups and bunnies near the rim, with his offensive struggles this season for the Timberwolves. That frustration was palpable within the Timberwolves locker room."
Krawcyznski believes other players may also be frustrated with Gobert's struggles but unlike Russell were able to bottle those emotions.
"D'Lo certainly tried to make it work but it was uncomfortable at times. We would come into the locker room and you could hear him actively just kind of bemoaning the situation. I've talked to coaches and players from other teams who heard him just kind of getting down on Rudy during games.
"There was this perception that D'Angelo Russell was very frustrated with Gobert and did not seem as open to working with him or trying to find a happy medium as maybe some of the other players were, trying to make what has so far been a disappointing trade, try to find a way to make it work."
It's believed that part of the reason Minnesota wanted Conley is because he has three years of experience playing with Gobert in Utah. Last season alone Conley and Gobert connected on 51 lob dunks, whereas the Russell-to-Gobert connection generated just 13 lob dunks, according to Krawczynski.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.