Mundane Jazz drama is mundane until it isn't
It's not a relief that Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert have tension over mere basketball.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
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In Tuesday’s newsletter, I linked to Tim MacMahon’s thorough, enthralling piece looking at the relationship (or lack thereof) between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. The surface plot here is something we’re all familiar with: the Stifle Tower was apparently cavalier about the risk of COVID-19 back in March, both in the locker room and media room. He ended up being the NBA’s Patient Zero, and the league shut down when he tested positive. Then Spida tested positive the next day. Per MacMahon, they didn’t speak for a moth, though Gobert apologized quickly and (to my eyes) sincerely.
We learn from MacMahon that the coronavirus issue is just the flare-up, but the tinder for a relationship breakdown had been in place for something so ordinary and cliché: Gobert has bristled at Mitchell not passing the ball enough, and Mitchell gets annoyed at Gobert’s annoyed demonstrations that he’s open. There’s an added scoop of envy over fame, as well: Gobert gets snubbed for All-Star spots and big ad campaigns, whereas the flashy Mitchell soaks up attention.
This is all so … basic! Mitchell does not appear to have cooperated with MacMahon for this story, though he has some quotes in there. Gobert is an open book, and shows some real self-awareness, like in this quote:
“Donovan has a very bright personality and all that, and the way he plays, he’s more fun to watch than me. If I was 12 years old, I wouldn't want to be watching f---ing Rudy Gobert. I'd want to watch Donovan Mitchell.”
But self-awareness isn’t a salve in itself, and Mitchell’s discomfort broaching these topics in the media — and maybe even within the team, given how long it took for him to take a call from Gobert — is concerning. Partnerships break up all the time. It doesn’t have to be Shaq-Kobe nuclear level drama for it to fall apart. Gobert has a very strong sense of what winning requires. Mitchell is much younger and has a much different play style. Gobert is really sensitive to issues over credit. Mitchell seems less concerned with ensuring his big man gets all due credit from forces outside the team. The team is not replete with other strong personalities, Joe Ingles aside.
It’s a combustible mix without even considering the virus. And given that the Jazz do not appear to be title contenders without Bojan Bogdanovic, there’s a chance it devolves further before next year. Falling short begets blame, and blame begets sore feelings, and sore feelings beget anger, and anger begets TRADES. Add in the Jazz’s salary cap outlook and the murmurs that Utah could look to unload Gobert at some point look plausible, if not likely.
It’s not a relief that the issues between Mitchell and Gobert appear to be normal wing-vs-big drama. That gets teams broken up all the time. Utah is not invulnerable to that. And while it looks like Gobert is saying the right things and Mitchell has moved on, the bubble is going to try all players’ patience and sanity. Everyone will be looking for signs of distress in this relationship. What could go wrong?
Dream and Nightmares
A simmering issue centered on the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream hit a boil on Tuesday. Kelly Loeffler is an appointed U.S. Senator from Georgia. She is also a partner in the group that owns the Dream franchise, and was previously the team’s governor. She’s in a blanket primary in a special election to fill out the two years of the Senate term she was appointed into. Loeffler’s chief rivals for the seat are U.S. Rep. Doug Collins (not that Doug Collins) and Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. The top two finishers will compete in a run-off election for the slot unless someone wins a majority of votes. If Warnock, a Democrat, can consolidate support among left-leaning voters (an open question — there are other Democrats on the ballot), then whoever gets more votes between Loeffler and Collins (both deep within the Trump camp) will likely be in the run-off and given Georgia’s recent electoral history be the favorite.
That’s all the set-up to explain that Loeffler’s goal between now and November 3 is to consolidate support on the right so she can edge Collins. And so, here’s a slice of a letter Loeffler submitted to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Tuesday:
The truth is, we need less -- not more politics in sports. In a time when polarizing politics is as divisive as ever, sports has the power to be a unifying antidote. And now more than ever, we should be united in our goal to remove politics from sports.
The lives of each and every African American matter, and there’s no debating the fact that there is no place for racism in our country. However, I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter political movement, which has advocated for the defunding of police, called for the removal of Jesus from churches and the disruption of the nuclear family structure, harbored anti-Semitic views, and promoted violence and destruction across the country. I believe it is totally misaligned with the values and goals of the WNBA and the Atlanta Dream, where we support tolerance and inclusion. […]
Though I was not consulted about—nor do I agree with the League’s decision in this matter, I am proposing a common-sense recommendation to ensure we reflect the values of freedom and equality for all. I believe we should put an American flag on every jersey. Include it in our licensed apparel for players, coaches and fans.
Loeffler urges the WNBA to drop the Black Lives Matter support and replace it with flags on jerseys, hats and t-shirts. She also included a feint on black-on-black violence and referenced her own previously criticized commentary referring to protestors standing their ground as “mob rule.” And of course, despite her protests about politics in sports writ large, her letter is PURE, UNADULTERATED POLITICS — dingy, frame-setting electoral politics, not even noble politics like social reform. (The flag is also politics, for the record.)
By the way, I’m not sure this political gambit is going to work in the fashion Loeffler intended.
In response to Loeffler’s letter, the WNBA released a statement that’s basically this GIF.
WNBA players expressed rightful outrage at Loeffler.
Lindsay Gibbs at Power Plays is 100% right: this is untenable, and the WNBA needs to find a way to get Loeffler out of the Dream ASAP. If not, Atlanta will become a pariah franchise for players and sponsors. The Dream can afford neither. The season tips off in two weeks, and while Loeffler won’t be in her courtside seats due to the pandemic, you can bet players are determining how best to bring attention to the dissonance between Loeffler’s positions and their own.
This may also simply be the first skirmish in a new front of pro sports’ social activism. Heck, a few big NBA stars have already started mentioning wanting to find out where their franchisees are at on these issues …
Links
No bubble for Bradley Beal, who is recovering from a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, the Nets lost both Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince, who both tested positive for COVID-19 and won’t make the trip. Is it too late to invite the Hornets?
Marc Spears on the challenges of being a Black play-by-play announcer in the NBA.
Cool program from the Thunder and CAA in Tulsa.
Howard Megdal sums up some of the reactions from the WNBA community around living arrangements in the Wubble. Some issues to fix, clearly!
Kelly Dwyer’s 25-year history of the Knicks. ($)
How quickly can NBA players get in game-shape?
David Dennis on Ahmaud Arbery, the Freedom Summer, James Baldwin and a lot more.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on how to sustain momentum for the anti-racism movement.
Be excellent to each other.
just imagining the glory of an alternate universe where the NBA Doug Collins beats out Loeffler and spares us all