Dark Days Are Ahead if Jazz Trade Donovan Mitchell
Reports are coming in of the possibility of Donovan Mitchell being traded to his hometown New York Knicks via The Athletic's Tony Jones. After Utah Jazz executives talked about retooling the team around Mitchell for weeks, it seems Danny Ainge sees the best path forward for the team is to tear it all down for a complete rebuild.
As the Jazz currently stand, the pieces don’t really fit together in what amounts to a very unbalanced roster. It's understandable to look at this team and not see a viable path back to contention.
We know that the Jazz have been putting everything on the table and if it has come to Mitchell being seriously shopped around, it's probably a sign that no significant deal was left to be made.
The Rudy Gobert trade showed that it is definitely a seller's market for superstars. It only makes sense for the Jazz to expect the same or more from whichever team wants Mitchell.
Tony Jones is a reputable source and never speculates or projects player movement and so Jazz fans should take this report as evidence that Mitchell could very well be gone within the next days or weeks.
If Mitchell gets dealt to the Knicks, Jazz fans should expect a mountain of draft picks and extending contracts to create future cap space. If this is a tear-it-all-down complete rebuild, the Jazz still have many pieces to exchange for even more draft capital.
Teams will come knocking for a veteran point guard like Mike Conley or Patrick Beverley as well as the scoring prowess of Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Dark days and years may very well be ahead for the organization but maybe the best path toward a championship is following the likes of the Boston Celtics or even more recently, the up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder.
It has been a messy couple of years for the Jazz and without a clear window of contention, perhaps it is best to invest in the team's future 4-5 years from now rather than dwindle into mediocrity for three years before that process inevitably comes calling.
It's time to clean house and the writing is on the wall. Buckle up, Jazz fans, for a new team and a new era.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @ArembaczNBA.
