Utah‘s playoff strugglesput Donovan Mitchell‘s future with the team in question. At 25, Spida is highly sought-after in the league, with a potential move to the New York Knicks one of the biggest storylines of the offseason.
With Kevin Durant no longer in the market, the Miami Heat would also keep tabs on Mitchell. Though he is still under contract for three more years, at some point the Jazzhave considered the prospect of letting him leave.
Rudy Gobert is gone, so they looked ready for a significant rebuild. However, with the 2022-23 NBA season drawing nearer and no progress in trade talks, it looks like Utah would back off and rather decide to keep Mitchell.
Rumor: Jazz may decidenot to trade Donovan Mitchell
According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, the Jazz feel they might regret parting with Mitchell, as they may not find a similar replacementin the foreseeable. On top of that, Utah believes it has yet to see the best of him.
“This is the simple part: They know Mitchell is one of the more dynamic offensive players in the league,” Jones wrote. “They know that finding someone who can score 25 points a night, to go along with five assists and five rebounds isn’t easy. Mitchell will turn 26 years old in September but hasn’t reached the prime of his career.
“They know that they received enough assets in trading Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves — four first-round picks with three completely unprotected — that they are in a position to retool around Mitchell on the fly. And maybe most importantly, Mitchell has three years remaining on his current deal. So, settling for a trade that they deem to be 90 cents on the dollar or lower, is something that the Jazz are determined not to do.”
Losing Mitchell means starting from scratchfor theJazz, which is noteasy for any NBA team, let alone one that waited for so long to have a team like this. Quinn Snyder and Gobert’s departures are certainly a blow, but by keeping Spida, Utah could stillbounce back.