Utah’s project big man out of France Rudy Gobert’s summer has gotten off to a less than ideal start. He was in Santa Barbara, Calif., when…
Monday night, @rudygobert15 was examined in Santa Barbara, CA, and had an appendectomy performed. He will return to SLC tonight #GetWellRudy
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 10, 2014
Surgery went well.Thanks for the support im already walking to my plane.
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) June 10, 2014
This surgery takes 4-6 weeks to fully recover from, according to multiple medical Web sites.
It is unlikely he will play in Summer League for the Jazz. Which is too bad, he’s a guy who needs the court time, the experience (plus he’s fun to watch for those of us in Las Vegas).
Gobert was the 27th pick in last year’s NBA Draft, taken by the Nuggets but traded to Utah. He’s incredibly tall and long — he has a 9'7" standing reach — and is a good athlete for his size. He is disruptive in the paint already as a defender. The problem is offense, he looks lost quite often and when teammates would hit him with a pass rolling the the rim he struggled to control it.
He needs to add muscle and gain experience. Like a lot of bigs in the Utah rotation he is a project. He got in 45 games for the Jazz and played some in the D-League.
He should be healthy and ready to go by training camp next season.
