Parties in Gobert deal are reunited when Jazz faces Wolves at Target Center

It's his old team, but there are so many new faces; even the uniform is different.

So, Friday morning after Timberwolves shootaround, Rudy Gobert wasn't so much thinking about nostalgia, but about change.

"It's a process, but that's what life is about," Gobert said. "Those moments when you get out of your comfort zone is when you grow the most."

In only the second game of the NBA season, the Wolves' game with the Jazz at Target Center was a multi-player reunion. Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro and first-round pick Walker Kessler — along with multiple draft picks — were traded from Minnesota to Utah for Gobert during the offseason.

So, as Gobert was talking about his time in Utah at the team's practice facility, Beasley and Vanderbilt — who have now been traded, together, twice now — were talking about what it's like being back in Minnesota.

"It feels good to be on the other side," Beasley said. "I believe everything happens for a reason. I feel like I'm in a better place right now with a great opportunity. I'm going to take advantage of that."

Said Vanderbilt: "I was there and able to grow and carve out my role and my niche in this league," said Vanderbilt, a nightly energy source for the 2021-22 Wolves. "Being a part of helping change cultures and taking a team that was at the bottom of the league and making them into a playoff team, it's always great."

The Gobert trade was part of a roster rebuild under Jazz CEO of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge, one that included the Donovan Mitchell trade to Cleveland and the departure of coach Quin Snyder. Gobert joked that most of the familiar faces on the Utah bench would belong to training staff.

"We've been good," Gobert said of the Jazz. "Really good. I just think sometimes you miss that window and then it just can't last forever. And then you have to make decisions."

So Gobert wasn't surprised.

"I knew that the probability was the highest it had ever been in my Utah years," he said. "But I knew [Ainge] had a lot of things on his mind. And he was trying to do what he thought was good for the future of the franchise. So I was prepared. And, regardless of what happened, I was ready to have my best year."

Beasley said he and Vanderbilt are intent on going 3-for-3. They helped make Denver a playoff team before being traded to the Wolves, where it happened again.

The Jazz are not seen as playoff contenders this year. But: "That's our goal," he said.

If anyone is approaching this game with a chip on their shoulder it's Beasley. When asked about his emotions going into the game, he said: "Kill. Anybody. In front of me."

Gobert said he did contact some of his past teammates in recent days, such as Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson and Rudy Gay.

"It's nine years," Gobert said of his time in Utah. "So it's a big part of your life. I'm really grateful for them giving me the opportunity to come to this league and just grow as a man and as a player."

Cue the trash talk

Of course there was some trash talking going on. Clearly Beasley, given his comments, was focused on the game. Meanwhile Clarkson, the Utah guard, joked that if he got switched onto the 7-1 Gobert he would bust him up.

"I hope so," Gobert said with a laugh. "Now that you say that I'm going to make sure I end up on him with a switch.''