Donovan Mitchell

The Utah Jazz have some decisions to make this offseason when it comes to Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell following another disappointing campaign. Will they both stay in Utah? Or will one get traded?

If the Jazz were going to trade one player this offseason, they'd be more willing to deal Gobert, according to Sarah Todd of Deseret News. However, Utah could be looking to keep both players, Todd added.

"Reports that the Jazz could be looking to keep Gobert and Mitchell for the year that the team would host the All-Star break should be taken seriously," Todd wrote.

The report comes after Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported last week that "there’s reason to believe the main fixtures in Utah aren’t going anywhere anytime soon." He noted that it's important to Jazz governor Ryan Smith that the team has more than one player in the 2023 All-Star Game, which is set to be held in Utah.

Fischer also noted that the Jazz would be more likely to move Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O'Neal this summer.

It's not necessarily surprising that Utah might be hesitant to move their two All-Stars. Gobert just put together one of his best seasons in the NBA, averaging 15.6 points, a league-leading 14.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 71.3 percent from the floor.

Mitchell also had a solid season, averaging 25.9 points, 5.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 35.5 percent from deep. 

That said, there's always the possibility that Mitchell requests a trade. Fastbreak's Brett Siegel also reported last week that the veteran guard would be interested in joining the New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks if he requests a move.

Trading either Mitchell or Gobert would likely put the Jazz further from competing for an NBA title. However, it's clear something needs to change as the duo has failed to make it past the conference semifinals in their career together. 

If the Jazz were going to trade Gobert, there'd be no shortage of interest in the 29-year-old. The Toronto Raptors are among the teams interested in the big man, per SNY's Ian Begley. The Golden State Warriors also might have interest in the six-time All-Defensive first-team selection. 

The offseason has begun for all but eight teams in the NBA, and no franchise's future has been a greater subject of discussion in league circles than that of the Utah Jazz. But for all the talk of potential wholesale changes in Salt Lake City following another premature playoff exit, there's reason to believe the main fixtures in Utah aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Much of the leaguewide conversation regarding the potential split of three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell seems to have been generated by NBA actors outside of the Jazz franchise.

The 2023 NBA All-Star Game will be in Salt Lake City, a detail that multiple league sources connected to the Jazz have painted as a critical element of the franchise's future plans. It's of great importance to Jazz governor Ryan Smith that Utah has multiple players in that midseason classic, sources said, similar to how the Cavaliers were represented by both Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen during the 2022 affair in Cleveland. It's also clear that Smith is willing to financially support a contender, and Utah leadership has no designs of entering any sort of rebuild.

Jazz staffers and various figures around the league point most directly at CAA for the whispers that seem designed to push Mitchell toward requesting a trade from Utah, particularly to New York. Jazz personnel took great umbrage to Knicks executives William Wesley and Allan Houston and All-Star forward Julius Randle sitting courtside during Utah's Game 1 road win over the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, sources said.

Randle is a Dallas native, but Wesley and Knicks president Leon Rose were hired away from CAA, the agency that represents Mitchell, to pilot the franchise. And New York's front office has so far been unable to deliver the All-Star talent coups that organizations expect former agents-turned-executives such as Bob Myers and Rob Pelinka to deliver. The Miami Heat are being mentioned as another franchise that's closely monitoring Mitchell's status in Utah.

However, Mitchell still has three years remaining on his lucrative contract before he could decline a $37.1 million player option in 2025-26. And the Jazz have made countless efforts to cater to Mitchell's happiness in Salt Lake City, from trading for Mitchell's childhood friend, Eric Paschall, to terminating vice president of performance health care Mike Elliott after Mitchell was frustrated when Utah's medical staff urged to keep him sidelined for Game 1 of the Jazz's 2021 first-round matchup against the Grizzlies, which resulted in a loss.

Utah's steadfast commitment to Mitchell has naturally led rival executives to paint Gobert as the more likely trade candidate should the Jazz explore breaking up the duo. Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto are the potential Gobert destinations that have been discussed most among league personnel. But while Jazz figures have clearly recognized their roster's need for defensive improvements, moving on from Gobert would seem directly counterintuitive to fixing those shortcomings.

League personnel speak far more certainly of the Jazz looking to explore moving complementary pieces such as wings Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O'Neale. That could introduce All-Star point guard Mike Conley into an interesting point guard market that seems to be developing this summer.

Utah's Management Future

During his end-of-season media availability Monday, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder declined to address his contract status with the organization. Snyder did speak frequently of his plans to further contemplate the Jazz roster with CEO Danny Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik, which made him sound quite invested in returning to Utah's sideline.

"I'll meet with Danny and Justin. I've already done some of that with our staff, kind of impromptu," Snyder told reporters. "But that whole thought process is something that has yet to occur on the level that it will. You're not satisfied, you have aspirations to be better and win more, and that's what we'll try to do."

The noise surrounding Snyder's future in Utah seems to have stemmed from when he declined the Jazz's efforts to ink him to a contract extension. Word began to swirl around the league from there. The NBA is as much a game of thrones as it is a business rooted in the sport of basketball, and the potential opening to pilot a perennial playoff contender certainly sparks wandering eyes from coaches hungry for their first or next opportunity to lead a team.

While it's unclear what exactly motivated that holding pattern from Snyder, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told B/R there was some form of a disagreement between Snyder and Utah's front office during the 2021 offseason, prior to Ainge's arrival. Snyder still has one year remaining on his contract, along with a 2023-24 option that he could choose to pick up or decline prior to that season. There's plenty of time to evaluate his own Jazz footing, especially as speculation continues to mount about the longevity of the Mitchell-Gobert pairing.

The conclusion of his lone remaining guaranteed year, or perhaps even his 2023-24 option, could perfectly align with the timing of Gregg Popovich's eventual retirement from coaching the San Antonio Spurs. Snyder steered the Austin Toros, then-San Antonio's G League affiliate, from 2007-10, and he has been one of the many names linked as the Spurs' potential successor to Popovich.

It's a role that seemingly every coach with Spurs ties covets, from former head coaches like Brett Brown, Jacque Vaughn and James Borrego to longtime assistants like Will Hardy. Any figure who's overlapped with Popovich asserts that no man knows the legend's plans for next season, not even Popovich. While he does appear motivated to return to San Antonio's sideline for at least one more season, Popovich is known to be currently traveling and considering his coaching future. One source told B/R that Popovich plans to visit Belgrade for the Euroleague Final Four later in May.

With that, there's little expectation among figures close to the situation that Snyder will be departing Utah before his own contract expires. And for all of the speculation about potential front-office changes under Ainge, several league sources indicated the Jazz CEO has no imminent plans to shake up Utah's basketball operations.

Ainge did work alongside a small cohort during his time shepherding the Boston Celtics, but he has expressed little desire to run day-to-day activities in Utah, sources said. Prior to the 2021-22 campaign, the Jazz hired several new front-office figures to three-year deals with team options in 2023-24.

The only persistent conversations about potential management shake-ups in Utah trace back to the idea that former Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey, who resigned last June, continues to be mentioned as a strong candidate to lead a rival franchise's basketball operations, should an opportunity emerge in the near future. In that scenario, league figures expect Lindsey would attempt to bring familiar Jazz faces along with him.

Knicks' PG Options Coming Into Focus?

The Knicks executives' controversial appearance in Dallas also raised eyebrows because of the expectation that New York will aggressively pursue Mavericks ball-handler Jalen Brunson as an unrestricted free agent. One source with knowledge of the Knicks front office even suggested to B/R that New York's efforts before the February trade deadline were primarily geared toward freeing ample cap space to offer Brunson a competitive contract this July.

But word of the Detroit Pistons' interest in pairing Brunson with Rookie of the Year finalist Cade Cunningham, similar to how Brunson has thrived alongside Dallas' supersized point-forward Luke Doncic, has been as persistent as the Knicks' rumored desire for Brunson.

The Indiana Pacers, who hired former Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle last offseason, are another team known to have interest in Brunson's services. However, Dallas personnel have also shared a repeated confidence they will be able to retain Brunson after this strong postseason run in North Texas.

The Pacers' expected exploration of point guard Malcolm Brogdon's trade market is another looming wild card this summer. The Minnesota Timberwolves are believed to be similarly willing to gauge D'Angelo Russell's trade value.

Should the Knicks strike out on landing Brunson, would Conley, another CAA client, function as a feasible Plan B? Some New York staffers would prefer to look internally and give second-year guard Immanuel Quickley an earnest chance at emerging as the team's starting point guard following this year's failed Kemba Walker experiment. But the Knicks could send Evan Fournier to Utah directly in exchange for Conley, bolstering the Jazz's depleted perimeter rotation while sliding Mitchell over to point guard.

Throughout Mitchell's career, Jazz personnel have deliberated which position would best optimize their All-Star playmaker, just as Houston once contemplated shifting James Harden into a full-fledged lead ball-handling role.

Other Point Guard Destinations

Expected to be a leading contender for the 2022-23 championship, the Los Angeles Clippers' loaded roster does seem to have a noticeable talent dearth at point guard beyond Reggie Jackson. Conley will turn 35 years old in October. A contending team like the Clippers would appear to be a natural landing spot for someone of Conley's ilk.

A clean deal for Conley might be difficult to find without including the salary of starting center Ivica Zubac. The Clippers quietly explored Luke Kennard's value prior to the trade deadline, but for all of his improvement, the Duke product wouldn't exactly fulfill the Jazz's apparent desire to upgrade on the wing defensively.

A much simpler solution for the Clippers might be waiting on the other side of a potential contract buyout for John Wall in Houston. While one source with knowledge of the situation insisted to B/R that the Wall-to-Miami speculation has become outdated in the wake of the Heat's acquisition of Kyle Lowry, the Clippers could welcome Wall on a discounted deal into a loaded salary sheet expected to soar far above the luxury-tax threshold next season.

Outside of New York and Los Angeles, the Pelicans and Wizards are the only two teams that league personnel pointed to as having clear upgrade needs in their respective backcourts. After the Wizards' short-lived run with Spencer Dinwiddie, they have a clear hole next to Bradley Beal should they be successful in retaining the All-Star guard this summer.

New Orleans has no shortage of ball-handlers who are capable of initiating offense between CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram, plus the expected return of sensational forward Zion Williamson. Yet as Devonte' Graham slipped out of the Pelicans' postseason rotation, league figures have mentioned the 27-year-old as a potential trade candidate this offseason.

New Orleans is not motivated to part ways with Graham as it was with Eric Bledsoe last summer, sources said. Graham's decline in minutes during the playoffs may have been more a result of injury misfortune than a personnel decision by head coach Willie Green.

But the Pelicans' front office has swung a significant trade in most of the recent major transaction windows, from the trade deadline to the draft and free agency. They will be focused on finding upgrades to their rotation, sources said, with a clear goal of building off this season's surprise postseason appearance.

Jake Fischer has covered the NBA for Bleacher Report since 2019 and is the author of Built to Lose: How the NBA's Tanking Era Changed the League Forever.

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and his agent, Bouna Ndiaye, reportedly believe their upcoming exit meeting with team management will "likely determine" his future with the organization.

Tony Jones of The Athletic reported the update Monday as trade rumors swirl around Gobert and guard Donovan Mitchell following the Jazz's first-round playoff elimination at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.

Utah's front office hasn't made any declarations, but prevailing wisdom suggests the team's core is due for a shake up this summer following a lack of postseason success.

While the Jazz have qualified for the playoffs each of the past six seasons, they've never advanced beyond the second round. It's a disappointment for a team that's regularly finished near the top of the regular-season standings, including the NBA's best record at 52-20 in 2020-21.

If the franchise does decide to remake its foundation, it sounds like Gobert could be the main piece in a move.

Jones previously noted the Jazz "want to keep" Mitchell and realize that means trading Gobert could be the "only true avenue to explore in terms of improving the roster on the fly."

SiriusXM's Sean O'Connell reported Monday the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year is ready to provide the front office with a "him or me" proposition in regards to Mitchell, though Gobert appeared to downplay that notion on Twitter:

Even if neither player requests a trade directly, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which the Jazz bring back pretty much the same roster for next season with only a few minor depth changes. It's time to try something new around Gobert or Mitchell while they're still playing at a high level.

That said, Jazz general manager Justin Zanik didn't tip his hand during exit interviews last week.

"I think Donovan and Rudy, along with some of our other players, are hugely important to the success of this organization," Zanik told reporters. "When you're talking about building a championship house, it doesn't exist just on a foundation, it exists on everything else as well."

While there are countless factors in play if it comes down to keeping only one of Mitchell or Gobert, perhaps the simplest is age. The All-Star guard won't turn 26 until September, while the old-school post player will hit 30 in June.

For a team that's failed to capitalize on having its championship window open in recent years, keeping it open for as long as possible is likely the goal, which is another reason Mitchell is the more likely option to stay heading toward the 2022-23 campaign.

Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert would seemingly prefer NBA fans not to believe everything they read.

Sean O'Connell of SiriusXM reported Monday that Gobert "is at 'him or me' point with Donovan Mitchell and will demand that one of them be traded." O'Connell reported Gobert does not think the pairing can win a championship, is concerned with Mitchell's defense and knows at least one Western Conference contender would "pay handsomely" if he left Utah.

Yet the man himself didn't seem too impressed with the rumor.

While Gobert was dismissive, the idea of internal tension and a clear limit on championship potential for the Jazz is far from new.

Even after the big man's winning dunk in Game 4 of Utah's first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks, TNT's Matt Winer prompted an interview question with "there's a lot of talk about what this team can and can't be in the postseason."

Gobert was fined $25,000 because he replied "f--k the talk."

The momentum from that win was short-lived, as the Mavericks won the next two games to advance to the second round. It was another playoff failure for the Jazz, who fell behind 2-1 in the series even though Luka Doncic missed the first three games. They also blew a 2-0 lead to a Los Angeles Clippers squad that didn't have Kawhi Leonard for the whole series in the second round last year.

Mitchell and other perimeter defenders struggled to stay in front of Jalen Brunson and Doncic in the most recent postseason loss, bringing the defensive concerns back into focus.

In January, some interpreted Gobert's comments as taking a shot at Mitchell's lack of development on that side of the ball when compared to his peers.

"When I watch some of these other teams like the Suns or the Warriors, those guys are a step ahead of us in terms of winning habits," Gobert told reporters. "They take every game personally. Devin Booker is playing his ass off defensively. I've been watching him compared to two years ago.

"Guys like that, they buy in. You can tell they take pride in playing defense, stopping their man, doing whatever they can defensively to stop the other team and be a part of a winning culture. I think we're not there yet, but I think we're gonna get there."

Mitchell responded by saying, "We all as a group hold each other accountable. That's his way, I guess. I'm not too concerned about it. His just happened this way. Cool."

In February, ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon discussed the apparent tension within the team as well during an episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (via RealGM).

"Gobert and Mitchell have been at each other's...I don't know if I can say at each other's throats," Windhorst said.

MacMahon replied: "It's back to being passively aggressively awkward."

"It's the most underplayed story in the league, I think," Windhorst said. "The Jazz are struggling a lot. This team had big expectations and they're getting passed by frankly. They are not on the level they were a year ago. Donovan and Gobert, even though they're both under long-term contract, are under each other's skin. There's all kind of subtweeting and passive-aggressive stuff going on."

Mitchell and Gobert are both under contract through the 2024-25 campaign with player options for the following season, so an offseason trade may be the only answer if the situation truly is untenable.             

As the Utah Jazz look to find answers after another postseason disappointment, the New York Knicks don't appear to be hiding their interest in Donovan Mitchell. 

Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, one Western Conference general manager called the Knicks' apparent recruitment of Mitchell "amateurish."

MacMahon noted the Knicks had executive vice president William Wesley, forward Julius Randle and assistant general manager Allan Houston sitting in the stands at American Airlines Arena for Game 1 between the Jazz and Dallas Mavericks on April 16. 

"Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, the breakout star of the series, is expected to be targeted by the Knicks in free agency this summer," MacMahon wrote. "However, executives from other teams assume that the Knicks executives' prominent appearance—particularly 'World Wide Wes,' a former CAA consultant considered one of the game's great relationship builders—was part of New York's long-running, wink-wink plan of trying to get Mitchell to push the Jazz to trade him to his hometown team."

SNY.tv's Ian Begley reported last week that prominent members of the Jazz were "surprised and upset" when they saw William Wesley (aka World Wide Wes) sitting courtside at the game. 

There has been speculation for some time that Mitchell may not remain in Utah much longer.

Ric Bucher of Fox Sports reported in January, as the Jazz were in the midst of a five-game losing streak, there was "incessant buzz around the league is that there are those in Mitchell's circle who believe he is too big of a star for Salt Lake City."

The Knicks certainly figure to be in the market for any top stars who might be available in trades or free agency this offseason. They finished 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 37-45 record this season after making the playoffs with a 41-31 record in 2020-21. 

The Jazz will have to figure out what their direction is going to be moving forward. They have lost in the first round of the playoffs three times in the past four seasons. 

Mitchell told reporters after Thursday's season-ending loss to the Dallas Mavericks he wasn't thinking about his future right now. 

"My mindset is to win," he said. "Right now, I'm not really looking at that. … I'll think about it in a week. Right now I'm not thinking about that."

Utah does have Mitchell under contract through the 2024-25 season. He also has a $37.1 million player option for 2025-26.

If Mitchell decides he wants to leave the Jazz, the Knicks certainly figure to be one of the first teams in line to make a bid. They need a star in the backcourt and a go-to scorer. The three-time All-Star has averaged at least 24 points per game in each of the past three seasons.    

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.