By Jordan Long
The Utah Jazz already traded away one of their star players this offseason, Rudy Gobert. They sent him to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Jarred Vanderbilt, the #22 pick in this year’s draft who ended up being Walker Kessler, a 2023 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick, 2026 pick swap, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2029 first-round pick. That’s a large haul for Gobert . Another player could be on the way out, Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell has been the Jazz’s starting shooting guard for 5 seasons. This past year, Mitchell averaged 25.9 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game. With his play, the Jazz ended up with a 49-33 record, 5th in the Western Conference. The Jazz were bounced in 6 games in the first-round by the Dallas Mavericks. In that playoff series, Mitchell scored 25.5 points while dishing out 5.7 assists per game.
Once the Jazz season ended changes were going to happen. Of course, they hired Will Hardy as their new Head Coach after Quinn Snyder resigned. Once that was completed, the Jazz had to decide which star player to trade between Mitchell and Gobert. There was friction between the two and they couldn’t co-exist with each other. It seemed like that was fixed when Gobert went to Minnesota. The Jazz weren’t apparently not going to look to move Mitchell.
The Jazz have changed their tune with Mitchell. They are going to listen to offers for him and it is possible he will be in a different uniform when the season begins. According to ESPN, Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said, “Change is inevitable in the NBA. I’m not trying to be cryptic or anything else, but Donovan is on our roster and he’s a very, very important part of what we’re trying to do. Things evolve in the NBA, so I couldn’t sit here and say anybody is [untouchable]. We’re trying to build a championship team, but there’s no intent [to trade Mitchell], at all.”
For Utah, it wouldn’t make sense to trade Mitchell. They have been a playoff team for the past 6 seasons. Utah hasn’t made it past the 2nd-round, but at least they were playing meaningful games. Keeping Mitchell might continue that playoff streak. He is their top player now.
If the Jazz trade Mitchell, it signals they are rebuilding. Who knows how long it will take them to become a playoff team once again making Hardy’s job more difficult. The Jazz want to be a championship team and trading Mitchell isn’t the answer. The Utah Jazz will do what they feel is best for them moving forward. The goal is to win an NBA Championship.
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