The Utah Jazz came into the 2022 off-season with the seemingly inevitable task of trading either Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell, and in line with reports, it was the Frenchman who was dealt. There was plenty of debate as to what the return for a three-time Defensive Player of the Year would be, but it turns out that it was a group of young players, led by Patrick Beverley and Malik Beasley, as well as five first round draft picks.
The Jazz will now be looking to move forward with Mitchell as the clear star and leader of the franchise, but after nine seasons with Utah, it’s a good idea to pay tribute to the star defensive center. Gobert was a warrior and a constant defensive presence for this squad, and his departure comes with both negative and positive ramifications.
Today we are taking a look at the positive outcome of this trade, and why ultimately, moving Gobert this off-season was a good move for him, Mitchell and the entire future of the Utah Jazz franchise.
3. Trade capital to find a win now piece, or move into rebuild mode
This was perhaps the biggest factor in moving Rudy Gobert, as the Jazz were able to acquire a stockpile of draft picks, which they can use to add different, more fitting pieces to this team to make a run, or, they can simply move Donovan Mitchell, and have a gigantic haul of draft picks going forward. Either way, moving Gobert was necessary, and to get five first round draft picks in return was better than anyone could have expected, and now it opens up the future of the Jazz to go in whichever direction Danny Ainge and the front office desire.
Like the rest of the NBA, the Utah Jazz are waiting to see what happens with Kevin Durant’s trade situation, but once that clears up, there are many targets that the Jazz can look to acquire with all this newfound draft capital. Whether Utah look to make moves to win now or whether they want to completely rebuild the franchise and move on from Donovan Mitchell, the astronomical haul in the Rudy Gobert trade is what made this possible, and is one of the biggest reasons why this was such a win for Utah.
2. The Utah Jazz can now go find a stretch five
The partnership between Mitchell and Gobert has been deteriorating for years, and while it may not stem from Rudy’s lack of offensive game, it certainly played a role in their decreasing lack of chemistry on the court. This was evident by the fact that Mitchell averaged less than 2 passes, not assists to Gobert per game, and this move is clearly best for both of them, as it clears them up to be the best version of themselves on their own.
With scoring and stretch fives being the norm in today’s NBA, it was time for the Jazz to add scoring to go along with Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic, adding an element that Utah haven’t had in all their failed playoff runs over the past six seasons. This means a downgrade defensively, but the potential added offense will help this team come playoff time, and if they can add defense at other positions, it makes the trade all the more worth it for the Jazz.
1. The Utah Jazz moved $41 million of salary
The Utah Jazz didn’t want to be saddled with two massive contracts moving forward, and moving on from Gobert was a great way to free up cap flexibility for the future, giving them the chance to make more moves in the coming weeks. It’s not yet been confirmed which direction the Jazz want to go in following this trade, but if they want to acquire a big name (such as John Collins, Myles Turner or DeAndre Ayton), this gives them the ability to potentially find a way to make it happen.
It doesn’t need to be this off-season either, so if Utah want to play the long, patient game, then this allows them to be patient in waiting for a star playing to pair with Donovan Mitchell down the line.
On the other hand, if the Jazz want to go into a full rebuild mode, similar to Oklahoma City, this new flexibility will allow them to take on a large salary or two in order to stockpile more draft picks for the future, especially if a team like the Knicks come calling for Donovan Mitchell with 4-5 first round picks. It would have no doubt been a tough decision to trade the franchise’s best ever center away, but given all the flexibility it gives them going forward, it was no doubt the best move this franchise could have made.