I respect your opinion, and agree that it seems to align with how a lot of Jazz fans feel, but I’ve been thinking about DM quite a bit since his 71 point game and I’m not sure why he gets the hate he does from the fan base and meanwhile Rudy is beloved.
DM is unquestionably the most talented offensive player ever to suit up for the Jazz; Rudy is possibly the best defensive player (Mark Eaton would like a word). Both left us wanting on the other side of the ball.
DM gets called out for not giving enough effort on defense, and in so doing complainants often cite that he was a good defender in college. That may be true, but it fails to consider that DM is massively undersized as a 6’1 SG (despite his wingspan) and fails to account for the fact that he basically had to carry the team on offense. Very few players carry their team offensively to the tune of 25 shots per game and play lockdown defense – and none that do are 5 inches shorter than the ideal height for their position.
Rudy by comparison never seemed to care or work hard enough to develop even a basic offensive game. His footwork is terrible, he has no back to the basket moves, doesn’t use his body or his length well at all, and has no jumpshot to speak of. Have you ever seen him even try a hook shot or any shot that takes advantage of his length? He can dunk the ball without jumping but still shoots underhand layups for crying out loud! He can’t punish opposing coaches for putting 6’8 shooters on him so we would get toasted come playoff time. But for some reason everyone blames Mitchell for quitting on the team. Rudy and Quinn bear a lot of responsibility though.
And despite his massive limitations and archaic skill set, Gobert was vehement that he get a max deal, and very nearly got it. That deal held the franchise hostage; everyone knew that Rudy wasn’t worth anywhere near that but they also knew that the Jazz couldn’t lose him. He makes Jokic/Embiid/AD money and demanded that because he honestly believes that he is just as valuable as them. His ego hobbled the franchise but for some reason everyone gives him a pass; meanwhile DM is accused of quitting on the team even though he gets better every year. Rudy really hasn’t.
As for the Rudy/Donovan thing, I don’t know what went on behind the scenes, and I generally believe that it takes actions from both sides for a relationship to deteriorate. However, I will say that Rudy acted like a complete idiot with the microphone thing, at a time when we really didn’t know anything about Covid. Hindsight is 20/20, and everyone obviously has their own, likely very strong and possibly very politicized feelings about the pandemic, but it is certainly understandable if DM felt that at the time he caught a potentially fatal illness due to Rudy’s recklessness at worst or negligence at best. Friendships and/or professional relationships have been irreparably severed for far less.
Finally, on the “DM is just a gunner who plays no defense” reasoning: I get that that style of hero ball can be frustrating, but why is DM maligned and JC is celebrated? And don’t get me wrong, I love JC, but I don’t think it is fair to celebrate his play and then fail to appreciate or even criticize DM along the same lines.
Ultimately, I think people think that regardless of whatever has been made public, DM privately made it known that he wanted out of Utah and that is where the quitter narrative and the hate comes from. Even though over the summer it was Rudy, not DM, who said “him or me” and DM told management not to trade either player, I think the minds of many fans were made up by then. And maybe they are right, but I will say that I think it is very telling that all of the current Jazz players seem to have a lot of love and respect for DM still. Would doubt that they would feel that way if they felt he had quit on them.
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