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If you go after the Golden State Warriors online, you have to know they’re going to keep the receipts. That’s what happened Sunday, when the Minnesota Timberwolves sent Rudy Gobert home after he took a swing at Kyle Anderson during a timeout.
Here's Rudy Gobert punching his own teammate, Kyle Anderson, during the final game of the regular season. Cool, cool, cool. pic.twitter.com/nBHyYDXluA
— J.E. Skeets (@jeskeets) April 9, 2023
Reportedly, the Timberwolves were having an argument about defense, and the internet’s lip readers are convinced Anderson called Gobert Too $hort’s favorite word. But when Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole in practice during the preseason, Gobert had a tweet for his perpetual Defensive Player of the Year rival.
Insecurity is always loud.
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) October 7, 2022
Like the North, Draymond Green remembers.
Insecurity is always loud…
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) April 9, 2023
He waited six months, but Draymond hit Gobert with a chasedown block of a social media diss. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and ideally with screenshots.
Just like Jaren Jackson Jr. learned last year, the Warriors hear everything, they see everything, and they keep receipts. Jackson tweeted “Strength in numbers” after the Grizzlies beat the shorthanded Warriors last March. Twelve weeks later, Klay Thompson took time out of his post-championship press conference to single Jackson out, and call him a “freakin’ clown.”
It’s how the Warriors have done things for years. When Steph Curry had a bad first half, he used to read critical tweets at halftime to motivate himself. When Josh Duhamel called Draymond a “prick” for laughing at his wife Fergie’s All-Star Game national anthem, the Warriors found a remix of the song, and posted a video of themselves dancing to it in the locker room.
And while Draymond probably lost some goodwill in the locker room when he punched Poole, Gobert has lost goodwill with every teammate he ever played with. A source familiar with the Utah Jazz said last year’s team had cliques: “Rudy Gobert, and everyone else.” He definitely pissed off his teammates - and a lot of reporters - when he intentionally touched all the microphones in the press room, while positive for Covid-19.
Here's Rudy Gobert on Monday touching all the microphones in the media room on purpose.
— matt ashlock (@matt_ashlock) March 12, 2020
Here we are on Wednesday, and Rudy Gobert was just confirmed to have coronavirus, causing the NBA to suspend the season.
Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/6BF7q3n9ao
And based on a video of Anderson after the incident, captured by a team employee, the Wolves are already sick of the organization “kissing his ass.”
A Timberwolves employee caught a video of Kyle Anderson walking to the locker room:
— Jaden McDaniels GOAT (@JadenMcDanielsF) April 10, 2023
“The f**k is wrong with y’all……. y’all kiss his ass way to much telling me to focus. The f**k is wrong with y’all….y’all got a decision to make this second.”
Sounds pretty bad pic.twitter.com/B59YKWUhSg
It might not be a great sign for Gobert’s impact on winning that the Timberwolves were +17 after sending him home for the night. They ended up winning, and will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the 7 vs. 8 play-in game Tuesday night. It’s a revenge matchup between old Wolves D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt, and between any player in the league and Rudy Gobert.
Still, Gobert got off easy from Green, because what he retweeted right after the passive-aggressive Draymond slam is far more embarrassing.
SCARY HOURS pic.twitter.com/jpedFOxcaf
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 8, 2022
Rudy Gobert is a giant dork, and he’s trying to drag Karl-Anthony Towns down with him. The Timberwolves traded five first-round picks for Gobert, and everyone already hates him. What an incredible player.
Lakers by 15.
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