All good things must come to an end, and Donovan Mitchell’s time with the Utah Jazz has come to a close now. Trading for Mitchell on draft night in 2017 was one of the best moves the Jazz had made in recent memory, as he helped establish them as one of the top teams in the Western Conference during his time there.
Despite all of Mitchell’s heroics, however, postseason success would elude the Jazz for one reason or another. The latest setback came when they were eliminated in the first round by the Mavericks, which signaled that the time had come for change. Coach Quin Snyder was the first to go, followed by Rudy Gobert, who was traded to the Timberwolves, and after weeks of speculation, Mitchell was traded to the Cavaliers in a blockbuster deal.
The Utah Jazz Sent A Beautiful Message To Donovan Mitchell After He Was Traded
After the news broke, Mitchell thanked the Jazz for the memories and the incredible times he had with the franchise, as they saw him mature on and off the floor. That feeling of gratitude was mutual, too, with the team putting out a touching message to their former star.
We got to watch you light up the league as a rookie and cheer you on as you became a perennial All-Star.
We witnessed you embrace and serve our community while standing for what’s right and uniting Jazz fans everywhere.
Thank you for all the good you did here @spidadmitchell 🖤 pic.twitter.com/EhNAneb3z3
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) September 3, 2022
It is great to see that they parted ways on such good terms after all the drama that we have seen when it comes to some other stars departing their franchises. Mitchell now heads up a promising young core in Cleveland, and the Jazz will be hoping that they can assemble a core like that in a few years.
They have a lot of picks at their disposal now after trading Mitchell as well as Gobert, and now it is up to the front office to make sure that they hit on some of these picks at the very least. Brian Scalabrine called it an unbelievable trade for Danny Ainge, and if things work out perfectly, then it will be just that.
For now, though, Jazz fans, who had grown accustomed to watching winning teams, will have to endure quite a few losing seasons. It is hard to see a way in which the Jazz will be a good team in the near future, as they are pretty much gutting the roster at this point. An NBA insider stated that Utah has engaged in trade talks around Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Jordan Clarkson, so we can expect a completely new-look roster once the 2022-23 season rolls around.
