At one point during the NBA offseason, Donovan Mitchell was untouchable in trade discussions. However, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Jazz have reportedly shown desire to engage with teams in possible trade scenarios for Utah’s franchise player.
The latest reported news about Mitchell and the Jazz comes three days after general manager Justin Zanik told reporters that the three-time All-Star was not “untouchable” in the league’s free agency period, saying that “change is inevitable” in the NBA.
“I’m not trying to be cryptic or anything else, but Donovan [Mitchell] is on our roster and he’s a very, very important part of what we’re trying to do,” Zanik said on Saturday, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “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 there [to trade Mitchell], at all.”
Per Wojnarowski, anything is now possible for Utah after the franchise made the decision to send out Rudy Gobert in a blockbuster trade to Minnesota for Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jared Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, 2022 draftee Walker Kessler and multiple first round picks on July 1. Beyond Mitchell, Utah is also open to the idea for other potential trades with players on its roster.
With Gobert in Minnesota and new players joining Utah, it appeared that the Jazz would seek to rebuild around Mitchell and continue to go after a NBA championship. Instead, it appears that more changes could come to the franchise, after it began the offseason by hiring new coach Will Hardy.
Mitchell reportedly did not shy away from his feelings toward the resignation of his former coach, Quin Snyder, who coached him for all five of his seasons with the Jazz. According to Wojnarowski, he was “surprised and disappointed” by the early June move, and was trying to process what it meant for him and the franchise. Last season under Snyder, Utah fell in six games to the Mavericks in the opening round of the NBA playoffs after reaching the conference semifinals during the 2021 postseason.
The asking price for Mitchell is expected to be expensive, according to Wojnarowski.
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