Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has reportedly been "unsure" about his future all season and could leave the team after the squad's first-round playoff exit, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. 

"In terms of what might come next, it appears nearly every scenario is on the table," Amick reported.

Snyder has one guaranteed year remaining on his contract, and the two sides have reportedly had no discussions on a new deal. Though he is unlikely to be fired, Amick added that the coach could return to the Jazz, find a new job or simply take a year off. 

The 55-year-old is coming off his eighth season with the Jazz, accumulating a 372-264 record in the regular season. The squad has made the playoffs in each of the last six years, finishing 2020-21 with the best record in the NBA.

The postseason has still been an issue for the organization, never advancing beyond the second round during this stretch.

Snyder has a 21-30 record in the playoffs with three first-round losses in the last four years.

Utah was the No. 5 seed in the West this season but still had a good chance to advance against the Dallas Mavericks with superstar Luka Doncic missing the first three games with a calf injury. Dallas still won two of the first three games and closed out the series in Game 6 with a 98-96 win Thursday in Salt Lake City.

Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert have been All-Stars in each of the past three seasons while Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic have been valuable supporting players, but it still hasn't been enough to make a deep postseason run.

According to Amick, "ownership and management do not see Snyder as part of the problem."

There could still be a change in leadership for the team heading into 2022-23.     

After another disappointing playoff loss, Donovan Mitchell's future with the Utah Jazz is going to be a major topic of discussion this offseason. 

Speaking to reporters after Thursday's 98-96 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6, which knocked the Jazz out of the playoffs in the first round, Mitchell was asked by Sarah Todd of the Deseret News if he wants to remain in Utah. 

"Yes...this hurts Sarah, I'm not gonna lie. But yeah, I do," Mitchell said.

Mitchell has three more guaranteed seasons remaining on the five-year, $163 million contract he signed in November 2020. He averaged 25.9 points, 5.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game in 67 starts this season. 

This marks the third time in Mitchell's five seasons that the Jazz have lost their first-round playoff series. The franchise hasn't advanced past the second round since the 2006-07 season. 

Much has been made of the dynamic between Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Tony Jones of The Athletic published a story in April 2020 that had a source saying their relationship "doesn't appear salvageable."

Mitchell told reporters almost a year later that the story helped bring the two players together. 

"It brought out a level of determination in both of us that we never had," he said. "I never had a controversy like that. Here we were, the two pillars of the team, and we had to go to the playoffs in two months. It brought out a different level of tenacity in both of us."

Despite those comments, there remained rumblings that something has been off between the Jazz's two franchise pillars. 

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective Podcast (h/t RealGM.com) in February that Mitchell and Gobert were "under each other's skin" with all kinds of "subtweeting and passive aggressive stuff going on."

The Jazz were a season-high 18 games over .500 on Jan. 6 (28-10) but went 21-23 over the final 44 games to fall to No. 5 in the Western Conference. Their defense allowed 109.3 points per game after the All-Star break, compared to 106.9 points per game before the break. 

Whatever Utah's front office decides to do this offseason, it would seem unlikely the roster as presently constructed is back in 2022-23 after another early postseason exit.     

Donovan Mitchell said he's willing to accept responsibility for the Utah Jazz failing to "rise to the level of a championship team."

The Jazz were eliminated in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks, who scored a 98-96 win in Game 6 on Thursday night to advance.

"This hurts, we fell short of our goal. I'm hurting right now. ... I'm speechless," Mitchell told reporters. "There were times this season when the ball was rolled out that we didn't show that we wanted to be a team with championship aspirations."

The three-time All-Star averaged 25.5 points, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds in the series, but he struggled with his offensive efficiency. He shot just 39.8 percent from the field, including 20.8 percent on threes.

While it's hard to pin the blame for the early exit on the team's leading scorer, it's clear something isn't working in Utah as it attempts to emerge as a title contender.

The Jazz have reached the postseason in six straight years, including all five since Mitchell arrived as a first-round pick in the 2017 draft, but they've never advanced beyond the second round.

Part of the problem has been a lack of high-end talent around Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, but even the secondary contributors the front office has acquired struggled in the big moments. Mike Conley averaged just 9.2 points on 33.3 percent shooting in the Mavs series.

Mitchell explained his belief the Jazz could eventually get over the hump, but he didn't want to discuss any roster changes that may be on the horizon:

I'm a competitor, and I feel like if you give us another crack at it, we can go get it. But in the same token, there's things that could change. I'm not ready to discuss that, to be honest with you right now. I'm not. Mentally, I'm just not in that headspace, to be completely honest with you. I'm really not. To me, it sucks, yo. If you ask me that in a week, maybe, but right now I'm not in a headspace to answer that for you.

The biggest question is whether either Mitchell or Gobert could be moved over the summer as part of a significant roster haul in Utah.

Tony Jones of The Athletic reported there are "multiple teams" interested in Gobert and there "probably is more of a chance" he's moved than Mitchell.

It's easier to build around a do-it-all guard than an old-school center in the modern NBA, so trying to keep Mitchell is understandable.

Yet Gobert isn't just any post player. He's a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year who would leave a massive void at that end of the floor.

All told, the Jazz can't run it back with the same group given the lack of playoff success, but finding a path to guaranteed better results next season won't be an easy task.

The Utah Jazz were eliminated from the 2022 NBA playoffs with a 98-96 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of their first-round series on Thursday at Vivint Arena despite a strong showing from Donovan Mitchell. 

The veteran guard finished the loss with 23 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and one block. It was his fifth game of the series with at least 23 points, but his teammates did little to support him, and now people won't blame him if he wants to leave the Jazz this summer. 

Mitchell has been linked in trade rumors for a while now. An Eastern Conference scout told Ric Bucher of Fox Sports in January that the Jazz were "a first-round exit from Donovan being in New York." And now that's a little closer to becoming reality. 

Mitchell told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports in February that he was "happy right now" when asked about his future with the Jazz. Considering they were eliminated in the first round for the third time in the last four seasons, his thoughts could have changed. 

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell is dealing with injuries to both of his legs heading into Game 6 of the Western Conference playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, an MRI of Mitchell's left leg came back negative, but both of his quads are bruised. 

Wojnarowski added there "remains optimism" that Mitchell will be able to play in Game 6 on Thursday. He limped off the court in the fourth quarter of Utah's 102-77 loss on Monday night. 

Mitchell missed time earlier this season with a back injury and entered concussion protocol in January. He missed eight games with a concussion and didn't return until a Feb. 4 matchup against the Brooklyn Nets.

The 25-year-old has been mostly healthy over his career. However, he appeared in just 53 games during the 2020-21 season with several ailments.

Mitchell has been a consistent playmaker and scorer over his five-year career in Utah. This season, he averaged 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 35.5 percent from deep in 67 games.

With Mitchell's help, the Jazz went 49-33, good for fifth place in the Western Conference. They will need to win the next two games against the Mavs to keep their season alive. 

Game 6 will be played at Vivint Arena on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. 

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell reportedly expressed regret for derogatory comments he made about the team after the Jazz blew a huge lead in a loss last month.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Mitchell addressed his teammates and "made it clear with his genuine, emotional delivery that he had seen the kind of growth with this current group that made his sentiment off-base."

After the Jazz blew a 25-point lead and lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 121-115 on March 29, Mitchell said the following, per Tony Jones of The Athletic: "I don't know what to say … this is the same s--t ... this is literally the same thing as last year."

Utah had a golden opportunity to reach the Western Conference Finals last season against a Clippers team that saw Kawhi Leonard get knocked out for the final two games of the series. However, L.A. won both games and advanced, including a 25-point comeback in Game 7.

If Mitchell let frustration take over while addressing the media after the latest loss to the Clippers, it is somewhat understandable why.

As pointed out by Ben Anderson of KSL Sports, the Jazz made a habit of blowing big leads throughout the 2021-22 season:

The Jazz have performed well below expectations when the games matter most in recent years. Although Utah is in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, postseason success has proved elusive.

Over the past five seasons, the Jazz have never made it past the second round of the playoffs, and that included a pair of first-round exits in 2019 and 2020.

The Jazz are a veteran-laden team, and they need to make their move sooner than later if they are ever going to win a championship with the current core.

Mitchell is still in his prime at 25 years of age, but most of the other key players on the roster are 29 or older, including Rudy Gobert, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and Hassan Whiteside.

There is undoubtedly a sense of urgency to win now and win big in Utah, although doing so won't be easy.

The Jazz enjoyed a solid season with a 49-33 record to earn the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, but overcoming some of the teams ahead of them such as the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks won't be easy.

Utah clearly has the talent to go on a deep run, though, especially if everyone is on the same page following Mitchell's team address.

In the view of one NBA scout, the Utah Jazz may not be mentally ready for the 2022 NBA playoffs ahead of their first-round matchup with the Dallas Mavericks.

"Utah's psyche is an issue," the anonymous scout told The Athletic's Josh Robbins. "They've lost a lot of leads in the fourth quarter recently. So the Jazz might be the better team, but I'm not sure they have the mindset at the current time. There seem to be some issues there."

The Jazz lost five games in a row in late March. The nadir of that span came when Utah was outscored 39-21 in the fourth quarter and lost 121-115 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

That collapse was part of a larger trend. Since the All-Star break, here's where the Jazz rank in net rating by quarter, per NBA.com:

• First Quarter: 8th (6.5) 
• Second Quarter: 3rd (10.7) 
• Third Quarter: 3rd (11.2) 
• Fourth Quarter: 29th (-11.9)

One of those figures is not like the others.

Across the entire season, Utah is ninth in net rating (2.7) in the fourth quarter, making the last few months even more inexplicable.

And the scout didn't even reference the questions that have emerged regarding the relationship between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.

Because he apparently hasn't heard of the Streisand Effect, head coach Quin Snyder saw fit to speak for nearly 20 minutes to play down any friction in the Mitchell-Gobert dynamic. That probably turned the situation into a bigger story.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst said in February on the Hoop Collective podcast (via RealGM) that things are "back to being passively aggressively awkward" and Mitchell and Gobert "are under each other's skin."

Gobert addressed the rumors last week on NBA Today, saying, "People are looking for anything they can find to just try to divide us."

Still, this is not exactly the kind of fire a team wants to be putting out on the eve of the postseason.

Going on a deep run in the playoffs would be the easiest way for the Jazz to silence all the skeptics. Should Utah fail to get past the conference semifinals for the sixth straight year, the drama might only be beginning in Salt Lake City.

The Golden State Warriors could reportedly target Rudy Gobert if the Utah Jazz shop the center in the offseason.

"If Rudy Gobert becomes available this summer, I think you'd find a lot of those veterans with the Warriors might want the team to make a run at him," a Western Conference executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney.

The executive projected the Warriors would have to send Andrew Wiggins and James Wiseman in return for the three-time All-Star. 

"Talent-wise, Wiggins and Wiseman for Gobert is a good deal for both sides," they added.

A potential trade would further strengthen the Warriors' defense, which already ranked No. 2 in the NBA in efficiency this season. It would especially help in the post considering Golden State's currently undersized frontcourt of Kevon Looney (6'9") and Draymond Green (6'6").

Gobert (7'1") is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and he led the NBA with a career-high 14.7 rebounds per game this season. He also averaged 15.6 points and 2.1 blocks per game while making 71.3 percent of field-goal attempts.

It could be what the Warriors need to match up with other top bigs in the Western Conference, including Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns and Deandre Ayton.

With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole creating plenty of offense from the perimeter, the addition of Gobert would make this team especially dangerous.

From Utah's perspective, a trade could help create more cap flexibility by dealing a player owed over $120 million over the next three years. The team already has $155.6 million on the books for 2022-23, the sixth-highest in the NBA. 

Wiseman missed the entire season because of a knee injury, but the 2020 No. 3 pick has plenty of promise as a two-way center. Pairing him with Donovan Mitchell could keep the Jazz in contention for a long time while ensuring they don't lose much in the short term.   

Three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert doesn't want to be the victim of voter fatigue when the award is handed out this season.

The Utah Jazz star, the DPOY recipient in three of the last four seasons, told ESPN's Malika Andrews he might be a victim of his own success.

"If anybody else not named Rudy Gobert was doing what I do this year and having the impact that I have this year, they would be the frontrunner," he said.

Gobert is averaging 11.1 defensive rebounds and 2.1 blocks, and a quick peek into the advanced metrics further solidifies his status as an elite defender.

He's third in defensive win shares (4.1) and tied for 13th in defensive box plus/minus (plus-1.7), per Basketball Reference.

According to NBA.com, the 7'1" center is holding opponents to 51.1 percent inside six feet and 48.8 percent inside 10 feet of the basket. Both figures are more than 10 percent lower their normal success rate.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon also noted how having Gobert on the floor has made a huge difference on defense for Utah:

Voting on individual awards is always a subjective exercise, and that's especially true with Defensive Player of the Year.

Quantifying a player's contributions on defense remains difficult because outcomes aren't as binary as on offense. There's also the debate about whether the ability to guard multiple positions on the floor trumps being more of a rim protector like Gobert.

"I'm not taking anything from the bigs," Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart told ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "A vital part of the game is protecting the paint. But, as guards, we do a lot more before [our man] gets to the paint. ... Contesting the 3, contesting pullups, making sure he doesn't get to his spots."

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid offered a counter, arguing bigs occupy "the most important position on the floor."

"[Centers] call out all the coverages," he said to Bontemps. "They know what is going on. They call out the plays and stuff. That is the way it has always been. That's why most of the Defensive Players of the Year in the past have always been big."

One way or the other, this year's DPOY voting will fuel further discourse on the matter.