Let’s begin by making one thing abundantly clear: the Utah Jazz will not trade Rudy Gobert this season, and that’s a good thing.
Still, crazier things have happened, and as long as that’s true, we should feel free to dabble in thought experimentation. Here are two things that are true about the Jazz: they are built around 24-year-old Donovan Mitchell, and they are in the thick of contention for the NBA championship. Typically, title contention does not coincide with a team’s best player’s age 24 season.
The Utah Jazz have bucked longstanding NBA trends by diligently surrounding the upstart off-guard with quality veterans, and pairing him with 3x Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. After last season’s Western Conference semi-finals collapse, however, some believe this experiment has run its course.
It’s an entirely fair point-of-view; it’s just one that we don’t happen to agree with. Nonetheless, we’ll indulge by strapping on our devil’s advocate caps. If the Jazz were to move the Stifle Tower, they may be able to position themselves into taking a step backward in favor of several, future-minded steps forward.
Here are three trades the Utah Jazz could make for Rudy Gobert in the event that they decided to do just that.