The Utah Jazz started the 2021-22 NBA season off surprisingly well. As their counterparts like the Los Angeles Lakers struggled, they racked up win after win to firmly cement themselves as an upper-echelon Western Conference squad.
Then the wheels started falling off. First came one loss. Then another. Then another. Slowly, infighting and feuding among the players commenced.
Now, the trade talk has begun.
As it turns out, the Jazz are now appearing to slowly be warming up to the idea of trading Rudy Gobert.
#NBA Sources tell me the Utah Jazz are open to moving Rudy Gobert, but are not shopping Gobert on his own. It is not a priority to trade Gobert, but the Jazz would move Gobert for the right pieces.
— YouTube: The Monty Show —SUBSCRIBE (@TheMontyShow) January 18, 2022
Why are they willing to move him? Because he is not the one player the front office views as unmovable: Donovan Mitchell.
I am told the Utah Jazz have told everyone that Donovan Mitchell is not available, and they don’t see that changing in the near future. The Jazz view Mitchell as a generational talent they want to build the franchise around. #NBA #TakeNote
— YouTube: The Monty Show —SUBSCRIBE (@TheMontyShow) January 18, 2022
Gobert is an incredible defensive talent, but he is also fresh off signing a five-year, $205 million contract in 2020. He’s definitely a great player, but that is bananas money to be paying for a guy who can’t be the centerpiece of a championship unit.
It will be interesting to see where things go from here.
The Jazz have had a somewhat unlucky season. Despite that, up to this point they sort of have been able to persevere. If that changes, and should the losses continue to rack up, it wouldn’t be all that shocking to hear the noise surrounding Gobert getting dealt grow louder.
Kliff Kingsbury is having a rough week. https://t.co/NonD3EtPmX
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 18, 2022
Will it definitely happen? It’s impossible to say for certain. But is it likelier than it was this time last season? Absolutely.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
