During the Utah Jazz summer league press conference, Danny Ainge didn't give any information. The general manager of the Jazz left most of the talking to the team president after he answered at least three questions.
The recent trade for Rudy Gobert shows that the Jazz are more of a reconstruction than an addition phase. It's possible that the relationship between Gobert and Mitchell was so bad that they had to part ways. Had they made the Western Conference Finals this past season, it would probably have been managed.
The heads of the Jazz front office were asked if Mitchell could be traded or if he was considered expendable.
Manik told the media that change is inevitable in the NBA. He is an important part of what we are trying to do and I am not trying to be secretive about it. I can't say that we're trying to build a championship team but there's no intent there
It is at the very least non-committal if Manik doesn't want his response to be seen as cryptic. He didn't say that Mitchell is an important part of the roster. Mitchell is an important part of what we are attempting to do.
The Jazz are trying to do something. With their location and roster, it appears that they are trying to build up as much draft capital as possible. Their best chance to win the NBA title was in 2021. They had a.722 winning percentage and home court advantage when they faced the Clippers in the second round. The Jazz were eliminated after losing two games in a row.
They finished the season with a five seed and went down in the first round to the Dallas Mavericks without Luka Doni. Now that the Jazz have maxed out, it is time to get more value for the players on their roster.
The Jazz should not announce at the summer league press conference that they are getting offers for Mitchell. Poor management is something that Ainge did with the Celtics.
He made a trade for Ray Allen when the Celtics didn't have the top two picks. He continued to add as many as he could after he traded Kevin and Paul. The Jazz got five first-round picks in the trade for O'Neal and Gobert. They could possibly get at least three more in a trade for Mitchell.
It is the only way for the Jazz to quickly put a team together with the step backwards they have to take by unloading the players that have value. The next European NBA star is likely to be Victor Wembanyama, who will likely be drafted next year. His ceiling is higher than Mitchell's.
The Jazz played their summer league press conference as close to the vest as possible, but don't expect Mitchell to be on the Jazz next summer league There should be a lot of teams looking to acquire a three-time All-Star who is unhappy in his current situation.
The Jazz might not have intended to trade Mitchell on Saturday, but it is likely.
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