Rudy Gobert’s former Jazz teammates preach patience for the Timberwolves

In the summer after his first season in Utah, Mike Conley picked up the phone and dialed an old friend. “It worked, and we got it to work, and it just takes time and everybody’s got to be patient.” After averaging 4.4 assists in his first season in Utah, Conley averaged 6.0 in Year 2 and made his first All-Star team, the synergy with Gobert helping propel the Jazz to the Western Conference semifinals. While the Timberwolves’ slow start to this season has been disappointing to fans who expected the acquisition of Gobert would immediately vault them into the upper echelon of the West given the exorbitant price the Wolves paid to get him, those who spent the most time by his side in Utah are not surprised one bit. It takes time.” Gobert came to Minnesota as an established star, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year who, the Wolves believed, would justify the enormous price they paid by addressing the team’s biggest weaknesses: rebounding and rim protection. We spent eight years together, a lot of pick-and-rolls, a lot of practices.” Gobert’s obligations with the French national team this summer prevented him from meeting up with his new teammates for informal workouts.