These two things are true:
• The Utah Jazz are at least listening to trade offers for Rudy Gobert, but not Donovan Mitchell.
• Quin Snyder is out as the Jazz head coach, and while he denied it in his statement there were multiple reports of “philosophical differences” between him and Jazz management.
Are those two things related? From Ian Begley of SNY.TV.
Snyder helped develop Gobert and Mitchell into All-Stars and may be committed to them, even though their on-court fit and chemistry are in question. Either way, it feels as if this iteration of the Jazz had run its course after they were bounced in the playoffs by the Mavericks (and, honestly, when they were ejected from the playoffs a year ago by a Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers team). Snyder walking away with a year on his contract suggests he didn’t think they were winning it all in the next year or two with what they had.
The “what comes next” debate will happen without Snyder.
His exit doesn’t make finding a trade partner for Gobert any easier. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year has four years and $170 million left on his max contract extension, and bringing him in commits a team to a specific style of defense (Gobert’s strength is in drop coverage, but good five-out lineups can expose him). The Raptors, Bulls and Hornets reportedly have shown interest, but are any of them trading players back to Utah that help the Jazz win with Mitchell?
It is going to be one interesting offseason in Utah. Starting with finding a new coach.
