Report: Jazz talked Donovan Mitchell trades before dealing Rudy Gobert

Before and even after trading Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves, the Jazz were reportedly shutting down Donovan Mitchell trade calls. Mitchell reportedly planned to stand pat rather than force a trade from Utah.

Then, the Jazz were reportedly suddenly engaging teams about a Mitchell trade.

What changed?

Probably nothing – other than the reporting.

Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune:

Sometimes NBA executives are not entirely truthful to the public and the press. Shocker, I know.

No, the Jazz were not 100 percent committed to building around Donovan Mitchell in the wake of the Rudy Gobert trade on July 1. They had discussed Mitchell trades before then as well.

Larsen elaborated on this on the ProBasketballTalk Podcast.

The Knicks seemingly got close on a Mitchell trade last week. A completed deal while it was being reported the Jazz were shutting down even calls on Mitchell would’ve made anyone who reported the Jazz were shutting down calls on Mitchell look silly. So, reports were updated as if the situation had changed.

My forward-looking takeaway: A Mitchell trade looks even more likely. This isn’t a team merely doing due diligence. Utah has been working on its long-term plan for a while, and trading Mitchell appears to be a likely step.