How Will Minnesota Handle Rudy Gobert Drama Ahead Of Play-In Game Vs Lakers?

The Lakers are set to face an opponent with a lot of negative noise around them right now.

The stage is pretty much set for the NBA playoffs and in order for the Los Angeles Lakers to punch their ticket, they have to take care of business against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in tournament this upcoming Tuesday.

Even if they were to drop the game, they are the seventh seed currently so that means they'll get a second chance in the tourney to land the eighth seed but I think everybody agrees that the more rest before the first round, the better.

However, some serious drama occurred in Minnesota's final game against the Pelicans. Rudy Gobert, who's had a rough year to say the least, got into a heated dispute with teammate Kyle Anderson in a huddle and it led to him throwing a punch.

Have a look for yourself.

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It was just a horrible look for the former Defensive Player of the Year. We've seen multiple teammates argue mid-game, even some of our own, and it's led to pushing but to actually throw a punch was extremely unprofessional.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski gave us a lot of updates as the situation unfolded and he revealed exactly what was said that led to the altercation, shared that the Timberwolves pulled him out for the rest of the game, and even got inside information that Gobert and Anderson had another verbal exchange in the locker room at halftime.

Minnesota President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly on Rudy Gobert: “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.”

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 9, 2023

ESPN Sources: Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert escalated a verbal argument to a physical encounter after Kyle Anderson told him to “Shut the f--- up, bitch.” The disagreement started with Anderson telling Gobert to block some shots, Gobert telling him to grab a rebound – and ended with a…

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 9, 2023

Despite the Timberwolves ultimately winning the game, tensions were still hot and they'll be missing a key piece in Jaden McDaniels after he punched a wall mid-game and fractured his hand.

McDaniels' impact has been immense this season, especially on the defensive end. He's one of six players to defend 2022-2023 All-Stars at least 1,000 times this season, per @StatsWilliams. Now, he's lost vs. LeBron James and Lakers in Play-In game on Tuesday -- and beyond. https://t.co/gI2FeJ5Ldb

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 9, 2023

So how will the Timberwolves possibly come together after all of this drama in just one day? It is going to take quite the miracle and the front office is faced with some big decisions. Some are even theorizing that if the team votes on it, Gobert could be suspended by the franchise and not even take part in their big game on Tuesday.

The Lakers will obviously have their hands full with Minnesota's two stars in Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns but their odds to win have skyrocketed after the Timberwolves potentially lose two key starters.

A few hours after the game, Gobert took to Twitter and issued an apology to everybody involved, especially Anderson.

Emotions got the best of me today. I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate.

— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) April 10, 2023

This truly is the league that never sleeps.

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