NBA Rumors: Donovan Mitchell Still “Available For The Right Return”

After the trade of Rudy Gobert, all thoughts in Utah now turn to the future of the team's other star player, Donovan Mitchell. And although Utah Jazz personnel insist they want to build around Mitchell, there are reports that suggest it's not a certainty. That's according to several reports, including NBA Insider Ian Begley of SNY.

Several teams still view Mitchell as attainable for the right return.

Insider Marc Stein agrees. "The Jazz, for all their messaging about wanting to reload around Mitchell, would eventually be willing to trade Mitchell in the proverbial 'right' deal."

That all flies in the face of what ESPN's Insider Adrian Wojnarowski had reported (likely with a 'leak' from the Utah front office) after the Gobert trade. 

"They have shut down any team who's called about trying to trade for Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz are committed to moving forward with him as their cornerstone player."@wojespn on the Utah Jazz's plans with Donovan Mitchellpic.twitter.com/OqPPan8bYy

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 3, 2022

"They have shut down any team who's called about trying to trade for Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz are committed to moving forward with him as their cornerstone player," said Woj. 

Sometimes, though, where there's smoke, there's fire. As noted by Dan Devine of The Ringer, the Jazz aren't Donovan Mitchell's team anymore. They're CEO Danny Ainge's team now.

Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen has also heard that holding onto Mitchell is certainly no sure thing. 

FWIW: I'm hearing some pushback regarding the idea that the Jazz are definitely keeping Donovan Mitchell moving forward.

Sense is that the Jazz are keeping their options open here: they could retool around Mitchell, or trade him for a massive haul to jumpstart a rebuild.

— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) July 1, 2022

"I'm hearing some pushback regarding the idea that the Jazz are definitely keeping Donovan Mitchell moving forward," wrote Larsen. "Sense is that the Jazz are keeping their options open here: they could retool around Mitchell, or trade him for a massive haul to jumpstart a rebuild."

Certainly something to keep an eye on, as Ainge and the Jazz are far from done "retooling" or "rebuilding" this offseason.

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