Utah Jazz and the Potential End to a Promising Future

In 2017, the Utah Jazz were in a difficult predicament. The franchise just finished a successful season with their franchise guy, Gordon Hayward, even making his first All-Star game. However, he decided it was time to move on from the organization via free agency. This led to a potential rebuild for the Jazz. It was going to start at the 2017 NBA draft, where the Jazz traded up to take a young guard out of Louisville by the name of Donovan Mitchell.

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Mitchell was the first piece for this new direction of Jazz basketball. The expectations were low coming into that season. However, Mitchell was extremely polished as a rookie, while their young big man, Rudy Gobert, made a leap. The Jazz were better without Hayward and giving the keys to the franchise to Mitchell; while Gobert being the sidekick. The future looked bright for this team. A contender was on the horizon. Fast forward to 2022, and this franchise might need to make a tough decision regarding both of their All-Stars.

The Nail in the Coffin 

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Before Donovan Mitchell made his way to Utah, Rudy Gobert was trying to establish himself as a real NBA player. Coming into the 2013 draft, Gobert was looked at as a huge project. He was 7 ft 1 in with a wingspan nearing 7 ft 9 in. However, his skill set was not a positive at the moment. This is why he fell to the bottom of the first round before the Jazz traded for the 27th overall pick to select Gobert out of France. Gobert began to take off as not only an All-Star, but one of the best defensive centers we have seen for a long period of time. For five straight seasons, he was named a first team All-NBA defense member, while winning three Defensive Player of the Year awards. His offense still lacked, but he had Mitchell to help on that end.

From the moment he stepped on the court, Mitchell was a bucket. His rookie season saw him average 20 points per game on 43.7% shooting. The last three seasons for Mitchell have been rewarded with All-Star nods, while being the leading scorer for a contending Jazz team. Despite the success of these two individuals, they cannot reach the Western Conference Finals.

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Last season was the most alarming for the Jazz. They had an amazing year by finishing the season with the best overall record and claiming the number one seed in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, they were bounced in the second-round by the Los Angeles Clippers, who were without Kawhi Leonard for the final two games of the series; both of which were a Jazz loss. Gobert was made of fun of for his performance during game six, which was the closeout game for the Clippers.

This was the final straw for the Jazz. Yes, they are in the playoffs this season and have a good chance of making it to the second round. However, this season has not been smooth in the slightest. The rift between their two stars seems to be coming to an end.

A Rift Beyond Repair

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Where did this rift between Gobert and Mitchell begin? The timeline is not 100% concrete, but the guess for most fans will be the day the NBA had to pause because of Covid. Gobert was named as the first player in the league to contract the virus. Then reports surfaced saying how reckless Gobert was during the early days of the disease being known in this country. He seemed careless to the masses with that famous press conference where he touches every microphone before walking off. This led to Mitchell contracting the virus as well. Stories began to trickle out about this incident and how Mitchell was legitimately mad at Gobert. However, we didn’t think this would be the beginning point of their potential rift.

This season has not gone the way the Jazz had hoped, following a year where they held the best record in the NBA. The Jazz have blown 16 double-digit leads this season; with some being in devastating fashion. Gobert has not been afraid to speak publicly on the team and their issues with closing games. Then there is Mitchell on the court looking as if he is refusing to pass Gobert the ball. This led to people on the internet talking and eventually finding stats to backup that observation.

Donovan Mitchell passes to Gobert year by year:

2017: 3.6
2018: 4.4
2019: 5.8
2020: 3.5
2021: 2.3

I wonder what possibly could’ve happened in 2020 to make passes drop from 5.8 to 3.5.

It’s clear that off court issues are leaking on court.

— Dustin Taylor ⌚️ (@DustinT_NBA) April 3, 2022

The season is not over yet, but when it does, there might be some big changes on the horizon for the Utah Jazz and their future.