The Utah Jazz have changed course and are now showing a willingness to listen to trade offers for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. For the past few weeks, the Jazz have been telling teams Mitchell was not available, but that is no longer the case.
“Change is inevitable in the NBA,” Jazz GM Justin Zanik said during a news conference Saturday, via ESPN. “I’m not trying to be cryptic or anything else, but Donovan is on our roster and he’s a very, very important part of what we’re trying to do. Things evolve in the NBA, so I couldn’t sit here and say anybody is [untouchable]. We’re trying to build a championship team, but there’s no intent [to trade Mitchell], at all.”
Early this month, the Jazz made a blockbuster trade that sent Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, No. 22 pick Walker Kessler and four first-round picks — three of which are unprotected in 2023, 2025 and 2027.
That trade, among other moves such as parting ways with long-time head coach Quin Snyder and trading Royce O’Neale to the Brooklyn Nets for a first-round pick, seemed to signal a rebuild was coming in Utah. However, in order to fully tear things down and start over, they need to trade Mitchell as well. While the Jazz are still being a bit coy, it seems that will now happen sooner rather than later.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
