Apparently DLo was an absolute douche

[BloopOracle]

This is coming from Jon Krasinski

I'm paraphrasing here, but he said that Dlo openly talked shit about Gobert in front of teammates and other teams and coaches, sometimes even on the floor. He said that Dlo wore his dislike of Gobert "on his sleeve".

He also said that Dlo did not want to throw lobs to Gobert and had little interest in working with him.

Several times media came into the locker room and could hear Dlo being frustrated with having to play with Rudy, and Jon insinuated it was awkward to hear.

Rudy also knew that Dlo did not like him
Rudy very excited about Conley, can trust him - did not trust Dlo
wolves pursued Bones, Crowder and Bey

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

This is actually from a random Reddit user. It's been circulating on Twitter too. People are wondering if it's a summary from Jon Krawczynski's article -- which had little mention of these details -- or his latest radio appearance. Nobody knows because it was improperly sourced gossip.

Also, weird to say that D'Angelo Russell had little interest working with Rudy Gobert when he actually leads the team in assists to him. They're also fourth in the entire league in PG-C assists at the rim. Seems like they were working together more than some are leading on.

Also wouldn't the first time that teammates didn't like each other and still performed. You don't have to be buddy-buddy to win anymore. Also, talking shit is normal in sports locker rooms. Don't know the severity of it, but clowning Rudy because he can't catch passes from teammates or finish routine plays seems to be fair in my view. Play better and the jokes would disappear. I'm sure Russell gets clowned for his defense behind closed doors as well. Hell, even Elston Turner ribbed him about taking a charge. Toughen up buttercup.

Overall, this is soft and of course it comes out after he's been dealt.

[Monster]

Just listened to the appearance of Jon K on Barreiro. It wasn't horrible stuff but it was enough that I wouldn't have much interest in keeping Russell long term. I'm a little surprised at what went down. I feel like I was somewhat wrong about Russell the guy. It's too bad out well can't wait for us to nail all those 2nds!!! Lol

[FNG]

Russell has been traded 4 times and he's only 26...says a lot. Guys like Jon K are always going to tell a lot less than the full story, but what he has already said makes me understand why trade rumors have been swirling around DLo for a long time. His first stint in LA didn't go so well, so I hope he does better this time. But I'm also feeling much better about the trade the more I learn.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Just listened to the appearance of Jon K on Barreiro. It wasn't horrible stuff but it was enough that I wouldn't have much interest in keeping Russell long term. I'm a little surprised at what went down. I feel like I was somewhat wrong about Russell the guy. It's too bad out well can't wait for us to nail all those 2nds!!! Lol

Also listened to it after finding out the source. That Reddit user milked the hell out of that post. Bad paraphrasing made it sound much worse than it was.

Sounded more like there was frustration in the locker room with Rudy Gobert and it was from multiple players. Not a shocker. D'Angelo Russell was probably more vocal about it because of the early dysfunction with their two-man game, especially in a contract year for him. Rudy dropping passes. Blowing layups. Bad passes. Everything goes into it. I'm not surprised there was shit-talking in the locker room. A lot of it was probably deserved if not productive.

Side note: Donovan Mitchell also grew tired of Gobert, which led to their eventual breakup. Gobert's coordination, or lack thereof, would seem to get old quickly if you're a guard. Maybe it was unfixable, but you can see why there would be frustration. Also doesn't mean they weren't productive together.

[60WinTim]

I got the impression the friction was not a season long thing, but developed more recently. I can imagine the trade deadline approaching and no contract extension fed into it. Dlo deciding to eject himself from the Denver game was kind of telling, too. His last action as a Timberwolf...

[Lipoli390]

Just listened to the appearance of Jon K on Barreiro. It wasn't horrible stuff but it was enough that I wouldn't have much interest in keeping Russell long term. I'm a little surprised at what went down. I feel like I was somewhat wrong about Russell the guy. It's too bad out well can't wait for us to nail all those 2nds!!! Lol

Also listened to it after finding out the source. That Reddit user milked the hell out of that post. Bad paraphrasing made it sound much worse than it was.

Sounded more like there was frustration in the locker room with Rudy Gobert and it was from multiple players. Not a shocker. D'Angelo Russell was probably more vocal about it because of the early dysfunction with their two-man game, especially in a contract year for him. Rudy dropping passes. Blowing layups. Bad passes. Everything goes into it. I'm not surprised there was shit-talking in the locker room. A lot of it was probably deserved if not productive.

Side note: Donovan Mitchell also grew tired of Gobert, which led to their eventual breakup. Gobert's coordination, or lack thereof, would seem to get old quickly if you're a guard. Maybe it was unfixable, but you can see why there would be frustration. Also doesn't mean they weren't productive together.

Yes. Jon K always reported that multiple Wolves players were frustrated with Rudy's bad hands, clumsy misses and softness. I remember one time Rudy missed a wide open layup and multiple players on the bench were demonstrably gesturing that Rudy should have dunked. There was the time Rudy got hit in the face going up for a rebound and he let the ball get taken easily from his hands as he held his face and didn't move whole the other team took the ball down the court and scored. On the replay, it was apparently that Rudy wasn't hit hard at all. Then there was the time he whined about the fans booing the Wolves in the first half for horrific play by the team, including Rudy, even though the team's own coaches criticized the team for lack of effort. There's Elston Turner's "toughen up buttercup: quip as well. Rudy fumbling the ball, missing bunnies by taking layups that should be dunks, and getting the ball stripped easily from his hands, along with his inability to score more than 1 foot from the basket have frustrated the heck out of me as a fan. I would expect - and hope - it would frustrate his teammates, assuming they're competitive.

I'm detecting a narrative forming to further justify the trade. Truth is, there are good arguments for and against this trade. But DLO getting frustrated with Gobert, which Jon reported as a sentiment shared by other teammates, and possibly hurting Rudy's feelings, are side shows that have nothing to do with state of this franchise right now. I'm sure some of DLO's teammates were frustrated by his tendencies to have defensive lapses, make careless turnovers and stifle ball movement. I suspect they voiced those frustrations in his presence. He's now gone because of those tendencies and the uncertainty surrounding the cost of re-signing him. He's also gone because TC believes Conley is his best hope to get from Rudy something that comes remotely close to justifying the massive price he paid to get him.

If healthy, I think Conley will do a better job of managing the offense and get more out of his teammates than DLO did. That's my main positive take-away from the trade. Meanwhile, the reasons for the frustrations that DLO expressed are still here in DLO's absence. The Jazz took years honing a system that covered for Rudy's weaknesses and accentuated his strengths. It worked all the way up to the playoffs when those weaknesses were too readily exposed. The Wolves will have to figure things out. Meanwhile, DLO can feed Anthony Davis and LeBron, who won't fumble the ball and can shoot from anywhere. If DLO criticizes either one of those two, he'll regret it. :)

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Well said, Lip. I would actually be more concerned if there weren't players frustrated with Rudy Gobert this season given the goals this team has along with everything we've seen from Gobert and the absurd salary he's guaranteed long-term. Guys pass him the ball wide open under the rim and you still have to hold your breath and pray that he first catches the ball cleanly and secondly converts the hoop. It's not a given with that guy. He's 7'2 with a 9'7 standing reach and it's not a certainty that he can make a routine layup, for crying out loud. I'm sure at some point there will be a montage of all the silly mishaps that caused said frustration. Some of which you mentioned and I can remember them all too well. I can also remember a clip of Austin Rivers sitting on the bench against Houston watching Gobert throw a left hook hard off the glass and Rivers sunk his head into his hands in disbelief. That's not uncommon if you watch for bench reactions. And as I mentioned before, D'Angelo Russell is not the first player nor the last that will grow tired of that shit.

In any event, Mike Conley Jr. is on the roster and Russell is on another team now. It is what it is. The Russell mudslinging will last for several more days and then we'll remember that all the problems this team had before are still there. Russell will be the short-term scapegoat, but his exit doesn't mean things are suddenly going to click to perfection for the Timberwolves.

[60WinTim]

Connelly zoom call talking about the trade. It seems clear that the Conely acquisition was about surrounding are young guys with quality teammates to guide them in their growth. The Gobert connection is a bonus (I'm not sure he said that -- I am saying that).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIAt5bsb0L4

[Edit: the adjective was actually "responsible"... ]

[Wolvesfan21]

DLO was mentally hurt when he was benched for JMac in the playoffs. He was as good as gone after his ego got damaged and he couldn't handle it.

I am doubling down even though the Wolves have a very hard schedule to finish. The Wolves will end up with a top 4 seed and home playoff series. They will win said playoff series as well. DLO was a shitty teammate, only cared about his stats and not about winning or making teammates better. Addition by subtraction, net loser, no defense. Guy has been dumped 4 times already. Guy thinks he is Jordan and gets benched for JMac. lol Good riddance!