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Marc Stein on Rudy Gobert Trade Rumors: More Teams Than Mavs, Raptors Will Eye Jazz C
April 3, 2022
If the Utah Jazz decide to break up Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell this offseason, they won't lack for suitors.
Marc Stein reported the Dallas Mavericks and Toronto Raptors are among the teams that would be most interested in the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
The Jazz have lost six of their last seven games, capped off by the Golden State Warriors coming back from a 21-point deficit Saturday night. The Warriors' comeback was spearheaded by an 18-0 run that saw Utah fall apart on both sides of the floor.
Once considered a contender to win the Western Conference, the Jazz now look like a team in complete disarray. The stretch run of Saturday's game against Golden State exposed a lack of chemistry on the roster, particularly between Donovan Mitchell and Gobert. At multiple points, Gobert switched onto a smaller defender and had position in the post, only for Mitchell to wave him off and hoist a contested look.
Rumors of tension between the two Jazz stars have been percolating for two years now. It seems every time the team is in a downturn, there's a new rumor popping up about one of the pair forcing their way to a divorce.
The Jazz likely wouldn't make a trade without a request coming from the player. Utah is not a premier free-agent market, and nothing the team would get in a trade would match the value of Mitchell or Gobert.
Both players are under contract through 2024-25 and have player options for the 2025-26 season.
