Timberwolves suspend Rudy Gobert for Play-In game vs. Lakers: Sources

The Timberwolves suspended center Rudy Gobert for Tuesday’s Play-In game against the Lakers after he threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout in Minnesota’s win over New Orleans on Sunday, league sources told The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know:

• The suspension is for one game. Gobert will return for the next game — either Friday in the Play-In Tournament or in the first round of the playoffs should Minnesota win Tuesday.
• Gobert threw the punch after he and Anderson exchanged words, replays showed. The jab connectd with Anderson’s left shoulder and teammates immediately grabbed Gobert and stepped between the two.
• Gobert was sent home after the incident, which occurred shortly before halftime as the Timberwolves trailed the Pelicans in a game with playoff position implications. Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels punched a wall in the tunnel as he was exiting the game and suffered a broken right hand, the team announced.
• The Timberwolves, the No. 8 team in the West, will earn the seventh seed with a win over L.A., or will fall into an elimination game against the 9-10 winner with a loss.

What this means for Timberwolves-Lakers

The short-term impact for Gobert’s suspension may not be as damaging as it would initially appear. He was hampered by back spasms on Sunday, so there was a question of if he was going to be healthy enough to play against the Lakers anyway.

If he was fully healthy, the Timberwolves would have benefited greatly from having his size and rebounding against an imposing Lakers frontline with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt. But if he was as limited in his movement as he was against the Pelicans, the Wolves may be better off sitting him out and going with Karl-Anthony Towns at center. The two-big lineup with Towns and Gobert has had its share of difficulties this season. In some ways, the Wolves have looked more fluid when only having one of them on the floor. The Wolves will be much worse defensively without Gobert, but will likely be much better on offense with Towns at the 5. Nathan Knight could see some minutes against the Lakers as another big with Gobert and Naz Reid (broken wrist) both out. — Krawczynski

How this affects Gobert’s future

The long-term impact of the suspension is much trickier. The way the team responded to Gobert’s punch, with Taurean Prince coming to Anderson’s aid, Mike Conley saying afterward that teammates have to take Anderson’s critiques in stride and not personally and president of basketball operations Tim Connelly deciding to send Gobert home in the middle of the game all point to a need to address the real chemistry issues this team has had all season long.

The fit has not been as seamless as the team expected when they gave up five players and four first-round picks for him last summer. Gobert had been playing much better since the Wolves swapped D’Angelo Russell for Conley at the trade deadline, but unless this team finds some consistency and success in the playoffs, there will have to be some real conversations on the viability of the roster as currently constructed heading into this summer. — Krawczynski

Timberwolves seem ready to move past it

As disappointed as the Timberwolves were in Gobert’s reaction in the moment, there was a real sense in the locker room after the game that the players were ready to move forward. Anderson said he was sure that he and Gobert could get past it, saying “it’s not the first time someone has swung on me.” Gobert quickly apologized for his role in the scuffle. The Timberwolves in general have weathered adversity well this season and the players did not view this as an existential crisis, more just another bump in the road that they have navigated all year long. — Krawczynski

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(Photo: David Berding/Getty Images)