The Utah Jazz have a number of viable reasons to explore trading Donovan Mitchell. Even when they had Rudy Gobert, they proved on numerous occasions that they were incapable of winning championships. Without him, they have no clear way to rebuild as a contender before Mitchell’s 2025 free agency. Outside free agents rarely want to come to Utah. Even if they did, the Jazz had no flexibility this offseason. Their only viable way forward is through the draft. Trading Mitchell will net a boatload of picks.
The dream scenario with any draft pick is to land a player like Mitchell. That’s what opponents of a potential Mitchell trade would say. Why trade him for players who may never be good? Andy Larson of the Salt Lake Tribune offered an explanation: The entire NBA seems to believe Mitchell is on his way out the door. Larson reports that “the overwhelming feeling among league insiders is that Mitchell is likely to sign out of Utah at the first available opportunity in 2025,” and that his preference would be to play in a bigger market.
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According to Larson, Mitchell considers New York his home. He spends most of his offseason there, and not coincidentally, the Knicks have been the most aggressive team to try to trade for him thus far. As of yet, no package has been revealed, but with eight tradable first-round picks, there’s sure to be a deal to be had.
Mitchell would also reportedly be interested in playing in Miami. Their way of achieving it is a bit more complicated. While they could offer young guard Tyler Herro in a deal, they currently only have two tradable first-round picks. They can get to three with a little trickery, and they can offer several first-round changes, but ultimately they just can’t offer what the Knicks can.
Regardless of where he lands, it’s become painfully clear that Mitchell doesn’t plan to spend his career with the Jazz. Whether a trade happens this offseason or in the future, it appears the Jazz have met the need for a rebuild.
