Donovan Mitchell spent five seasons with the Utah Jazz and he blossomed into a star over the time period. In each season, he added another skill to his arsenal and kept improving.
Moreover, the results of Mitchell’s hard work were visible, at least in the regular season. Alongside Rudy Gobert, Mitchell led the Utah Jazz to some great records over the years. But come playoff time, the dynamic duo seemingly lost their stardom.
After a couple of unsuccessful runs in the postseason, ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Jazz finally decided to rebuild the team as they traded both their stars.
Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves while Mitchell found his new home with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Speaking of Spida’s trade, before the official announcement of his trade to the Cavs, other teams were also interested in trading for him.
Among those teams were the Los Angeles Lakers. Following an underwhelming 2021-22 NBA season, the Lakers have been looking to improve their roster throughout the offseason. Adding Mitchell to the mix would have certainly helped them in achieving their goal.
Instead of trading for Mitchell, the Lakers had to settle for Patrick Beverley, who was also a member of the Jazz.
Danny Ainge Kept Lakers As His Backup Option
The fact that the Lakers were looking to trade away Russell Westbrook was no secret from the rest of the league. If the franchise wanted to acquire Spida, they would have to include Russ in the package, along with a few picks.
It has been recently revealed that Ainge was keeping the Lakers on the back burner, in case any other team failed to provide him with a better package.
Via Heavy:
It was a little strange that the Lakers and Jazz did the Beverley deal when they did because you knew they’d have more to talk about down the line. They (LA) had interest in Mitchell and that was something Danny (Ainge) was keeping on the back burner, but there were other offers ahead of where the Lakers were. Danny always knew he could go back to them. There is no question that the Lakers would have made the move for Mitchell if they could and the Jazz wanted those two picks (2027 and 2029).
The arrival of Patrick Beverley will certainly help the Lakers next season, but Mitchell is a three-time NBA All-Star and is yet to play the best basketball of his career.
At the end of the day, the Lakers’ attempt to get the 25-year-old was botched by Ainge in a very smart way. He certainly got a very good deal in exchange for Mitchell, which will help Ainge in skilfully rebuilding the Jazz.
