Two superstars are believed to have been available in trades over the last month or so. One, Kevin Durant, has since decided to return to the Brooklyn Nets after previously wanting to suit up elsewhere — Brooklyn’s ultra-high asking price meant that no one was able to send them a suitable deal for the former NBA Finals MVP, and as a result, the team is going to run it back.
And then there’s Donovan Mitchell. In the aftermath of the Utah Jazz’s decision to trade Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team decided to embrace a full rebuild and make Mitchell available. They likewise are asking for a whole heck of a lot, but unlike the Nets, which never wanted to move Durant, Utah understands that moving Mitchell is a crucial step as it prioritizes its long-term future.
As for when Mitchell will possibly be on the move, the latest edition of ESPN’s The Hoop Collective hinted that something could be coming down the pipeline sooner rather than later.
“The Jazz are beginning their business,” said Brian Windhorst on the podcast. “They made their first post-Gobert move earlier this week when they traded Patrick Beverley to the Lakers.”
Windhorst mentioned that his co-host, Tim MacMahon, said that the plan in Utah was to move Mitchell before the team’s regular season opener, but then brought up that he heard the team doesn’t want to wait until October to get something back for Mitchell.
“It sounds to me, in talking to people around the league, that the Jazz want to try to go even sooner than that,” Windhorst said. “They want to go before training camp.”
The Jazz play their first preseason game on Oct. 2, 2022.