NBA
Woj Reveals the Utah Jazz’s Plan for Donovan Mitchell Following the Rudy Gobert Trade
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterUpdated01 Jul 2022
Just about 24 hours after ESPN’s Brian Windhorst cryptically warned the NBA world to watch “What’s going on in Utah,” the Utah Jazz made a blockbuster trade. The team sent center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a massive package of picks, prospects, and contract filler. Now the NBA universe is left wondering, what’s going on with Donovan Mitchell? And Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski seemingly has the answer.
The Utah Jazz are keeping superstar Donovan Mitchell… for now
The relationship between Utah Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert has been bad for a long time now. The ceiling of a team built around the duo has also seemingly been established.
The Jazz have made the playoffs six-straight seasons with three first-round and three second-round exits.
During the 2022 offseason, longtime head coach Quin Snyder stepped down, and new front office executive Danny Ainge hired first-time NBA head coach Will Hardy. Ainge then handed Hardy a surprisingly long five-year contract.
As Brian Windhorst alluded, this seemed to signal that the Jazz are about to enter rebuild mode.
This prediction seemed to come to fruition on Friday, July 1, as the Jazz traded Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a massive, future-looking haul. The team got back two veterans on manageable/tradeable deals (Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley), 23-year-old Jarred Vanderbilt, and 2022 No. 22 overall pick, Walker Kessler.
Plus, the Jazz got an incredible bundle of future draft picks. Woj tweeted, “Minnesota is sending its 2023, 2025 and 2027 picks unprotected and a top-5 protected 2029 pick to Utah, sources tell ESPN.”
While this might seem like a complete tear-down, Woj also reports that “The Jazz gathered six first-round picks in the past 24 hours, including 7-footer Walker Kessler, the 22nd overall pick in the 2022 Draft. The Jazz plan to retool the roster around All-Star G Donovan Mitchell.”
Mitchell is a five-year NBA veteran with three All-Star appearances on his resume. In his career, the former Louisville Cardinals guard averages 23.9 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game. He also shoots 36.1% from 3-point range.
Despite being a season NBA veteran, Mitchell will only be 26 when the 2022-23 NBA season begins. That makes a rebuild around the star a plausible idea. However, if Ainge and the Jazz get an offer they can’t refuse, Mitchell could be on his way out of Utah as well.
All stats courtesy of Basketball Reference
RELATED: Donovan Mitchell Had to Become a New York Mets Fan for a Surprising Reason
