It's been over three years since Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell last suited up for the Utah Jazz. It was clear their time as Jazzmen was over, and now, they're on playoff contenders with title aspirations. However, despite now being on different teams, both Mitchell and Gobert are in the exact same situation they were with the Jazz.
Those days for the Jazz should still be fresh on the fanbase's collective minds, as those were some good times. Sometimes. Without trying to rag on that era of Jazz basketball too much, when the Mitchell-Gobert teams were at their peak, they were a very good team, but they were never great.
It simply felt like something was missing from those teams, like the Jazz needed one more crucial ingredient to be in the title conversation, and they never got it. They certainly made some slick moves to improve their ceiling, but even with all their success, it never quite felt like they were right there.
And now, it feels like the same thing is happening with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Both teams have been good, and if you ask them if they would still make the trades they made with the Jazz three years ago today, they would say yes. Both Gobert and Mitchell are still among the best at what they do, but like the Jazz back then, it feels like both of their current teams are lacking that one ingredient that will push them over the top.
Like the Jazz back then, both the Cavaliers and Timberwolves have made slick moves to fix their problems and help their chances. Even so, they're not getting the results they wanted. Neither of them is close to the top of the respective conferences, and while they are better than their record suggests, the roster flaws are too apparent
There are differences between the Cavs and Wolves
The Cavaliers and Timberwolves acquired the esteemed Jazz alumni for different reasons, despite paying similar prices. Cleveland acquired Mitchell believing he was the guy on their next title team. Minnesota acquired Gobert, already having that guy (Anthony Edwards), believing that Gobert's elite defense would catapult them into title-contender status.
And the funny thing is, they weren't wrong about what those two could do. The problem for Cleveland is that the supporting cast around Mitchell simply isn't good enough. The problem for Minnesota is that it lacks a playmaker that can help orchestrate the offense.
For Cleveland, a trio of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen to put next to Mitchell is really good, but none of those guys are franchise players. Garland and Mobley are stars, but they have yet to prove their ceilings aren't limited as players. It's why Mitchell has put up historic playoff performances that ultimately don't make a difference for Cleveland.
They've made trades to rectify the problem in the past year, like acquiring De'Andre Hunter, Lonzo Ball, and Larry Nance Jr. All solid players that round out the edges, but at the heart of the Cavaliers' problems has been that they need a talent upgrade in their top four, and it's hard to see how they get one.
For Minnesota, the talent and rotation on that team is quite good. Edwards, Gobert, Julius Randle, and Jaden McDaniels is a fantastic quartet. Their problems now are the same problems they had when they first acquired Gobert: they lack a point guard. They fixed this when they acquired old friend Mike Conley, but now Conley's too old to handle that big of a role these days.
So, they need a replacement, and that'll be hard to find without compromising what they have now. If they don't, they may not see the same success they've seen over the past two postseasons.
Does this all sound familiar? It should, because even if they aren't in the exact same situations that the Jazz were back when they had Mitchell and Gobert, the problems are still the same. These are good teams that are sadly too flawed to get to the promised land.
The good news from all of this is that if the disappointment gets bad enough, they may make changes that could make those picks they owe Utah all the better.