Jazz make a mistake if they don’t trade Mitchell?
After five years in which Mitchell and Gobert played together and always qualified for the playoffs – Utah was eliminated three times in the first round and twice in the conference semifinals – the team traded Gobert in a mega-deal to the Minnesota Timberwolves for five players and four draft picks.
Now all eyes are on Mitchell and his future in Utah, a team that has reportedly been in talks to trade him.
1- What’s keeping the franchise awake at night?
After successfully trading Rudy Gobert to Minnesota, Jazz general manager Danny Ainge could sleep easy. The five players and four first-round picks obtained in that trade meant a big return for a team that is essentially beginning a rebuild.
However, Ainge is doubling down and also listening to offers for Donovan Mitchell, his franchise player, to accelerate that process. With the Knicks as the team most interested in making a trade for the shooting guard, the man who cuts the cod in Utah is thinking about the number of future first-round draft picks he can get in return.
The New York team has 11 first-round picks between 2023 and 2029 and Ainge knows it. Is seven too many? Is it better to ask for too much than settle for five? Will the Knicks be willing to include veteran players like Mike Conley or Bojan Bogdanovic in such a trade?
For the time being, Utah is hoping to restart negotiations with the Knicks or another team and that’s what’s keeping them on their toes. Because as the great Tom Petty said in one of his songs: “the waiting is the hardest part”.
2- What is the Jazz’s main unfinished business?
Rebuilding as quickly as possible and defining if Donovan Mitchell leaves or stays.
The Utah quintet will start a new era under the orders on the bench of coach Will Hardy, who has some very big shoes to fill after the departure of Quin Snyder, who was the team’s head coach since 2014 and with whom the franchise had great seasons that they could not crown with a long run in the Playoffs.
On the other hand, one of the ‘big fish’ of the summer, Donovan Mitchell, still does not know what his destination will be from the 2022-2023 season. At the moment, the shooting guard has high chances of joining the New York Knicks, although the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors are also on the list of suitors for the Elmsford, New York native.
In case of his departure, the rebuilding of the Jazz could take longer than expected by the management, since the movement of Rudy Gobert to Minnesota left them without one of their two pillars, so the possible change of ‘Spida’ would mean an absolute renewal of which for now it is difficult to make a short-term forecast.
3- True or False: Would Utah make a mistake if they don’t end up trading Donovan Mitchell before the season?
True. The sooner they trade Mitchell, call it New York or Miami, the better package Utah will get.
We all know Danny Ainge’s “lame duck”: draft picks. Add to that young players with upside, and the deal will happen. The questions are: where and when. Why wait for the regular series? Let’s not rule out Toronto as a possible destination either.
Mitchell is one of five guards in NBA history to average at least 20 points in his first five seasons. The others: Allen Iverson, Mitch Richmond, Michael Jordan, Dave Bing and Oscar Robertson. With that resume, the Jazz should have no trouble getting what they’re asking for.
Besides, why stay in Utah? The front office changed coaches (Will Hardy for Quin Snyder) and traded Rudy Gobert and Royce O’Neale. That team is in another one. And Mitchell has no time to waste.
In a league with good point guards and shooting guards coming in every year, Mitchell’s value will go down over time. The time is now.
