SALT LAKE CITY — While Jazz fans are just starting to process the loss of all 7 feet of the Frenchman, Rudy Gobert, it's clear that he is going to be missed.
Lots of people stopped by Vivint Arena or spoke out online with their thoughts.
Most told FOX 13 how powerful Rudy was to them and wished him well as he departs Salt Lake City, but they were also looking towards the future and the potential this historic trade may bring.
“It's heartbreaking to see someone leave who's so remarkable and fantastic as a human being,” said Maureen Meyer a lifelong Jazz fan.
"I've raised kids and they all played Junior Jazz, and now my grandkids do,” she added.
But being that lifelong fan, she has also been here in the past.
“it's inevitable," said she said, adding “I've been watching the Jazz since Stockton and Malone, and change comes and goes.”
The key for fans is the question of “What comes next for the team?”
“I just think next year, we're either going to be bottom of the league or top. I don't think there's going to be anything in between,” says Meyer.
Others we spoke with think that while this might be a good strategic trade, it will be several years before the Jazz get their momentum back.
“I'm kind of sad to see him go. He is a good player, but I am kind of excited with the trade. I personally do like Pat Beverley (coming to the Jazz from Minnesota as part of the trade) so I'm kind of excited for that,” said Tyler Smith, also a lifelong Jazz fan who was at Vivint Arena to buy some Jazz gear.
He was picking up a new purple hat, circa the 2000s, and said he drove from Spokane Washington to do it—though he was going to be in town anyway.
“Yeah, I came for the hat and it was totally worth it,” he joked as he left the arena.
With these new players coming in, there is one thing for sure he thinks that the Jazz should look for, and that's team chemistry.
“Overall, I think when the Jazz do good, it's because they're all kind of working together and when they are not doing good, they are playing as their own people,” he mused.
Another who thinks it will take a few years is Kobe Nelms, a Phoenix Suns fan who likes to come to games and root for the opposing team.
“I think they'll be in the gutter for the next four to five years,” he predicted, but said about the NBA that it was "cool" to see all the moves the teams were making as it made the league more interesting.
So as Salt Lake City bids goodbye to their beloved star player, it's a hopeful but cautious future for the home team, with Meyer promising that in their family “we'll always be Jazz fans.”
