Rudy Gobert tells LaMelo Ball to slow down: ‘You can walk’ in Wolves pick-and-roll

MINNEAPOLIS — Oct. 14, 2026 — Rudy Gobert has one piece of advice for LaMelo Ball as the Minnesota Timberwolves build their new pick-and-roll partnership: slow down.

Asked by Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore what he has learned about screening for the newly acquired guard, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year said the speed Ball plays with is not always needed when Gobert is the one setting the pick.

Asked Rudy Gobert what he's learned about screening for LaMelo Ball.

"The main thing I tell him is to just slow down with me. You don't need to go fast, because I'm going to give you an advantage. I told him to watch some clips of me and Joe Ingles pick and rolls. You don't need… pic.twitter.com/saVkOtJ5Vr

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) October 13, 2026

“You can walk”

“The main thing I tell him is to just slow down with me,” Gobert said. “You don’t need to go fast, because I’m going to give you an advantage. I told him to watch some clips of me and Joe Ingles pick-and-rolls. You don’t need to go fast; I’m going to give you an advantage. You can walk.”

The Ingles reference is a pointed one. During their years together in Utah, Ingles was never the quickest guard on the floor, but he became one of the league’s most reliable partners for Gobert by using the screen patiently, holding defenders on his hip and waiting for the big man’s roll to open a lob or a pocket pass. Gobert is asking Ball, one of the fastest decision-makers in the sport, to borrow some of that patience.

Why it matters for Minnesota

Ball arrived from Charlotte in an offseason trade and has spent his career pushing tempo, often attacking a screen before it is fully set. With Gobert, the payoff comes from the screen itself: a solid pick that forces two defenders to commit, followed by a roll to the rim that pulls help from the corners. If Ball lets that action develop, the Wolves can create cleaner looks for Anthony Edwards and their shooters on the weak side.

The advice also fits the early tone coach Chris Finch has set around Ball. Finch said this week that Ball is “always in a great mood” and shares a quality with Edwards in being “really hard to stay mad at,” adding that a team that once called itself moody has “traded moodiness for giddiness.” Gobert’s message is the on-court side of that adjustment: keep the joy, lose a little of the hurry.

What’s next

Minnesota continues its preseason schedule Wednesday night at home against the Detroit Pistons, another chance for Ball and Gobert to test the two-man game before the regular season opens next week.