Donovan Mitchell describes a series of events ultimately leading to multiple trades from Utah: “Rudy gets traded while we're having a conversation at my house"
After multiple failed playoff runs, Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz decided to go their separate ways this offseason. Despite the All-Star guard being under a long-term contract, the organization traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a haul of assets.
Before Utah moved on from their franchise guard, they first traded away his running mate. Earlier in the offseason, executive Danny Ainge executed a mega deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves centered around big man Rudy Gobert.
As the NBA season got underway, Mitchell sat down with JJ Redick for an interview on "The Old Man and The Three Podcast." He spoke about his trade, too. It was there that he opened up on how he wanted the Jazz to run it back, but knew the writing was on the wall:
"We told Danny, and I'm like, 'Let's not make this big blow up trade.' Everybody as soon as I asked we trade Rudy. I said let's run it back like you know."
Mitchell added:
"I'm with Will talking about the whole situation and then Rudy gets traded while we're having a conversation at my house. And I'm, like, 'All right, well, we're probably going a different direction.'
At that point, I was like, 'All right, I'm probably gonna be next.' But at that point, it was early in the summer so I'm just enjoying being home, like, I wasn't like worried about it."
Did the Utah Jazz make the right move by trading Donovan Mitchell this summer?
Given that they had fallen short of expectations multiple times, it was clear that the Utah Jazz needed to shake things up. While Rudy Gobert is one of the top defensive anchors in the league, his weaknesses were put on display in multiple playoff series.
Trading Gobert made sense for the Jazz, but should they have moved on from Donovan Mitchell as well? Along with getting ready to enter his prime season, the organization had him under contract for the coming years. With all the assets they had at their disposal, they could have tweaked the roster and put a competitive group around him.
Some might not like it when good teams gear up for a rebuild, but it made the most sense for the Jazz. Mitchell is one of the top guards in the league, but he can only do some much by himself. The front office made the right decision by trading him while his value was at its highest.
Now with the Cavaliers, the three-time All-Star finds himself in a good position to be a contending team for the foreseeable future. Utah now has a plethora of draft capital and young talent to prepare for the next phase of the franchise.