After the Utah Jazz decided to trade their star center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this month, many people assumed the franchise would use the acquired assets to build around All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that the Jazz are taking calls on Mitchell and are interested in moving him for the right offer. This comes after the rival executives were told that Mitchell is unavailable in the aftermath of the Gobert.
Moving Mitchell isn’t something that the Jazz are probably taking lightly, but it looks like the franchise has finally set the course for a rebuild. The organization already sent signals over the weekend that anyone and everyone on their roster is available.
“Things evolve in the NBA, so I couldn’t sit here and say anybody is [untouchable],” said Jazz’s general manager Justin Zanik during a press conference on Sunday when asked if Mitchell is “untouchable” in trade talks.
Donovan Mitchell was initially drafted into the league by the Denver Nuggets with the No. 13 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft before being traded to the Jazz on the draft night. This proved to be an outstanding piece of business for Utah as Mitchell immediately established himself as one of the team’s best players.
During his five seasons in the league, Mitchell made three All-Star teams and never had less than 20.5 points per game on average in a season. He finished the 2021-22 campaign by averaging 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and career-high 5.3 assists per contest.
