The Utah Jazz are 35-21 and sit fourth in the Western Conference. As winners of five straight and currently boasting homecourt in the looming playoffs, it seems on its face like this squad is heading in the right direction.
Unfortunately, recent reports suggest the contrary. There has been a lot of talk of infighting and feuding among the players, and it all led to some pretty stunning rumors ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline regarding a possible Rudy Gobert deal.
In the end, Utah opted to stay pat – but that hasn’t done much to quell the chatter of locker room discontent.
During a recent episode of The Crossover NBA Show podcast, insider Howard Beck revealed that things with the Jazz don’t be improving.
“I think they’re in trouble,” Beck said. “I think they’re in trouble because this this thing has run its course and we know there are some tensions that are in that locker room.
“And I’ve been told recently that they might be a little worse than we’ve even been led to believe. And so if this doesn’t end well, this postseason and there’s no reason to think that it will. … Those Donovan Mitchell ‘wants out’ rumors are going to be starting like as soon as the season is over.”
That’s certainly one way to make a Super Bowl pick. https://t.co/u5dFj628Z8
— Game 7 (@game7__) February 12, 2022
It will be interesting to see where the Jazz will go from here. The team has been objectively lucky both on and off the court up to this point, but eventually that luck will likely run out. The state of Mitchell and Gobert’s relationship after all this time is telling.
When that luck does run out, as Beck alluded to, it wouldn’t be all that shocking to hear the Mitchell rumors heat up once again. Where there’s smoke as it pertains to stuff like this, there’s usually fire.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
