NBA Offseason Buzz: All Eyes on Utah Jazz Stars + Knicks, Clippers, Pelicans

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The offseason has begun for all but eight teams in the NBA, and no franchise’s future has been a greater subject of discussion in league circles than that of the Utah Jazz. But for all the talk of potential wholesale changes in Salt Lake City following another premature playoff exit, there’s reason to believe the main fixtures in Utah aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

Much of the leaguewide conversation regarding the potential split of three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell seems to have been generated by NBA actors outside of the Jazz franchise. 

The 2023 NBA All-Star Game will be in Salt Lake City, a detail that multiple league sources connected to the Jazz have painted as a critical element of the franchise’s future plans. It’s of great importance to Jazz governor Ryan Smith that Utah has multiple players in that midseason classic, sources said, similar to how the Cavaliers were represented by both Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen during the 2022 affair in Cleveland. It’s also clear that Smith is willing to financially support a contender, and Utah leadership has no designs of entering any sort of rebuild. 

Jazz staffers and various figures around the league point most directly at CAA for the whispers that seem designed to push Mitchell toward requesting a trade from Utah, particularly to New York. Jazz personnel took great umbrage to Knicks executives William Wesley and Allan Houston and All-Star forward Julius Randle sitting courtside during Utah’s Game 1 road win over the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, sources said. 

Randle is a Dallas native, but Wesley and Knicks president Leon Rose were hired away from CAA, the agency that represents Mitchell, to pilot the franchise. And New York’s front office has so far been unable to deliver the All-Star talent coups that organizations expect former agents-turned-executives such as Bob Myers and Rob Pelinka to deliver. The Miami Heat are being mentioned as another franchise that’s closely monitoring Mitchell’s status in Utah. 

However, Mitchell still has three years remaining on his lucrative contract before he could decline a $37.1 million player option in 2025-26. And the Jazz have made countless efforts to cater to Mitchell’s happiness in Salt Lake City, from trading for Mitchell’s childhood friend, Eric Paschall, to terminating vice president of performance health care Mike Elliott after Mitchell was frustrated when Utah’s medical staff urged to keep him sidelined for Game 1 of the Jazz’s 2021 first-round matchup against the Grizzlies, which resulted in a loss.

Utah’s steadfast commitment to Mitchell has naturally led rival executives to paint Gobert as the more likely trade candidate should the Jazz explore breaking up the duo. Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto are the potential Gobert destinations that have been discussed most among league personnel. But while Jazz figures have clearly recognized their roster’s need for defensive improvements, moving on from Gobert would seem directly counterintuitive to fixing those shortcomings. 

League personnel speak far more certainly of…