Donovan Mitchell's beef with Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert over the coronavirus has eased, although not as quickly as the men recovered from COVID-19.
Now comes the next step: putting the episode behind them while they're on the court. Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey expects that to happen.
MORE: Gobert has NSFW response to being blamed for shutdown
"At the most basic level, they know they need each other to accomplish the goals that we want to accomplish, to be the last team standing in the NBA," Lindsey said Tuesday in a Zoom call with reporters, per Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune. Lindsey also said the two are ready to "act professionally."
Mitchell is the Jazz's leading scorer at 24.2 points per game. Gobert is their leading rebounder at 13.7 per game, and he's also averagingveraging 2.0 blocked shots.
Gobert's story has been well-told: He was the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus. The March 11 result in Oklahoma City came just days after the All-Star center touched reporters' microphones in an attempt at humor. Mitchell tested positive hours after Gobert's result while the Jazz were quarantined inside the arena.
The North American sports world, and then most of the U.S., was eventually shut down after Gobert's positive test.
Mitchell was steamed over Gobert touching the microphones, along with teammates and players' belongings. "It took me a while to cool off," Mitchell told ABC's Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" on March 16. Sources told The Athletic in April that the players' relationship "doesn't appear salvageable."
The two have since made repairs, to hear Lindsey tell it. They'll have extra time off the court to work things out further, because the NBA isn't close to returning, not even for team workouts.
