After all the recent playoff disappointments, it is no surprise that rumors regarding trades have been swirling around the Utah Jazz all season. They have only intensified after their defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of these playoffs, with the speculation being that one of Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell will be shipped out this offseason.
Their relationship has been called into question in recent times with Gobert, apparently at a “Him or Me” point with Mitchell. Gobert dismissed this report by stating that every day has its own rumor but that hasn’t stopped the speculation. There was also a report earlier on that the Golden State Warriors were interested in Gobert and his latest tweet has led to some wondering if the Frenchman would actually be interested in moving to the franchise:
💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽 https://t.co/q1d2v3yxKt
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) May 21, 2022
While this may just be Gobert praising Kevon Looney on a fine showing in Game 2 against the Mavericks, it certainly seems to have come out of nowhere. Looney is a free agent this summer and performances like these might price him out of Golden State. They might just need another big in there next season, with James Wiseman still being a question mark.
Gobert would be an interesting acquisition for the Warriors but at a very high price himself. Andrew Wiggins would probably be a part of any deal to acquire him as the salaries would need to match and we’d think the Warriors wouldn’t be too keen to trade him away, considering how well he has played on both ends in these playoffs. Also, the Warriors like to situationally use their bigs based on certain matchups, and having Gobert on a max deal to do that might be a bit too much.
Regardless of whether this particular move materializes, we can be sure that every little thing that Gobert does in this offseason is going to be analyzed to the fullest, as speculation continues that this might be the end of his time with the Jazz.
