With Donovan Mitchell at the helm, the Utah Jazz put together a strong core and a team good enough to make the playoffs every year. They could go toe-to-toe with every NBA contender in the regular season but failed to thrive in the postseason.
For years, people have speculated that it’s just a matter of time before Mitchell leaves to join a bigger market. Also, his alleged rift with Rudy Gobert and the questionable fit between them has only fueled that speculation.
It’s gotten to a point where even Jazz officials believe that his camp is trying to push him out of Utah. Apparently, it’s been his own people that arespreading around potential trade rumors to try and force a move.
NBA News:Donovan Mitchell’s Camp Is Pushing Trade Rumors
(Transcript via Blake Fischer – Bleacher Report)
“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.”
Mitchell’s ties to both the Knicks and Heat are evident. He’s a New York native, and Dywane Wade is a minority owner for the Jazz, so both destinations make sense. Now, it’ll all be up to whether the Jazz are ready to move on from him or not.