The Utah Jazz have been one of the top regular-season teams in the NBA for three seasons now. Led by the duo of shooting guard Donovan Mitchell and star center Rudy Gobert, the Jazz has been one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference.
While Utah has been a great franchise in the regular season with two superstars and a very deep roster, their incredible form has never translated into the playoffs. Often knocked out within the first two rounds, the Jazz and their stars have grown frustrated with the lack of success. But things got much worse last season.
With Mitchell and Gobert not on good terms and the team seemingly stuck in a weird position, a change might be inevitable. While who among the two will leave was up for speculation, fans seem to think that the 3-time DPOY might be on his way out.
Recently, some Jazz fans observed that the Frenchman has taken off the Utah Jazz team logo from his Instagram bio. This had led to many fans believing that the 29-year-old might be up for a trade in the off-season.
The Jazz certainly need a change of some sorts if they want to finally make a deep playoff run for the upcoming season. While the duo of Mitchell and Gobert have been consistent on a personal level, the team hasn’t had much cohesion in the playoffs. Other talented teams seem to target Utah’s incredible dependence on Gobert’s defense and tend to get easier shots as a result.
If the team wants to exit this frustrating situation, not only a major change in the roster is necessary, but hiring a competent head coach will also be a key. Quin Snyder might have succeeded in the regular season, but his defense centered around Gobert was exposed in the playoffs. A new system might be a fix to many of these gaping holes.
It will be interesting to see how Utah approaches the off-season. Their superstars, meanwhile, are in the prime of their careers and trading either one of them might be a win-win for all parties involved.
While Mitchell can thrive as a bucket-getter anywhere, Gobert can fit in like a glove in his role as a defensive anchor.
