A summer trip to Paris gave the Minnesota Timberwolves something they will need plenty of in the 2026-27 season: time to get to know each other away from the basketball court. For Rudy Gobert, it was also a chance to bring his teammates closer to his world, something he had reportedly wanted to do for years.
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The timing matters. Minnesota has undergone major roster changes, with Mike Conley, Kyle Anderson and Joe Ingles among the experienced players who are no longer with the team. Their departures have left head coach Chris Finch thinking about how the new group will adjust, particularly when it comes to working with Gobert.
Draymond Green, however, sees one part of Finch’s concern differently. “I’m just very surprised, very surprised to see Coach Finch come out and say, ‘Hey man, like I don’t know if we’re gonna have enough guys that’ll know how to talk to Rudy, like speak Rudy’s language,’” Green said on a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show. “Like that’s a bit weird to me. I think there’s more to that, obviously none of us will be able to dissect outside of being in their locker room, but that’s a bit weird. And I think the onus is going to end up being on Rudy to figure out how to talk and deal with the younger guys, not the guys figuring out how to talk to him. That’s just a little backwards to me.”
Green’s argument comes down to experience. Gobert has played 13 NBA seasons, while Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball have each completed six. In Green’s view, the veteran should take the lead in figuring out how to connect with his younger teammates. That does not mean his experience should go unappreciated, but it does mean that adapting to a new locker room cannot be someone else’s responsibility alone.
Finch’s original comments, made during a conversation with MinnPost on September 8 and published in a series of interviews, offer more context. He identified the loss of Conley, Anderson and Ingles as a concern because they brought experience, basketball IQ and an understanding of how to work with Gobert.
“Yeah, we lost a lot of experience and basketball IQ through those guys. My biggest concern though, Britt, is — I feel like the mood of the team is good and I feel like we’ll be able to do things. Maybe we won’t be the smartest team in the league — I don’t know. But I feel like LaMelo has a really good feel for the game, Anthony’s feel for the game is improving all the time. My biggest concern is that Rudy lost a lot of allies. Guys who understood him, knew how to talk to him, could help him help us. And as I go into the season I am just conscious to make sure that there are people on the team that can still ‘speak Rudy.’”
Finch’s concern was not that Gobert lacked appreciation from his teammates. He made that distinction clear in the same interview.
“That is not to say he isn’t appreciated. Anthony leads the way, then Jaden and the other players, they all have an unbelievable appreciation for what he does and has done. … He is who he is and he’s proud and he wants to do things a certain way. And that way is often the right way but sometimes he has to adjust to fit what the team needs in the moment. And there have to be guys that help bridge that gap.”
That is where Green’s argument and Finch’s concerns meet. Green believes Gobert must take responsibility for communicating with the younger players, while Finch sees value in having teammates who can help both sides understand each other. Neither position necessarily rules out the other.
The Timberwolves’ trip to France offered Finch a reason for optimism. Gobert had wanted the team to make the trip for years, but Edwards and Ball helped drive the initiative this summer. The players worked out, shared meals and spent time together away from basketball.
“And now Anthony was the driving force behind it. And LaMelo was a driving force behind it as a newbie here. And everybody ended up coming together. And that gives me great hope that we’ll figure out the Rudy piece within the team,” Finch said.
For Minnesota, that may be the most important part of the discussion. Gobert brings years of experience, but the new group must build its own relationships rather than rely on the connections that existed before. As the Timberwolves prepare for the season, making that work will require effort from their veteran center, his teammates and the coaching staff alike.