The Mavericks hold on to win the game and advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs. (1:20) Ryan Smith, the tech billionaire and recently retired NBA legend who are the faces of the Utah Jazz's new ownership group, boarded a private jet and flew across the country for an important meeting. The destination was a suburb of New York City called Greenwich, which is where Jazz star Donovan Mitchell lives during the off-season. The Jazz were eliminated in the second round of last season's playoffs after losing four straight games to the LA Clippers, a major disappointment after Utah had rolled to the league's best regular-season record. It had been a rocky postseason, beginning with Mitchell's public uproar with the Jazz's medical staff over the handling of his ankle injury. Smith and Wade wanted to have the type of talk that top decision-makers of NBA organizations have with superstars, particularly those who play for small-market teams. How can the Jazz make Mitchell happy? They talked about a lot of aspects of the organization, but they didn't achieve a deep playoff run. It was one of many goals the Jazz did not accomplish during a turbulent 2021-22 season that ended Thursday night with a first-round exit against the Dallas Mavericks. The NBA has been discussing the potential ramifications of another early playoff loss, particularly among teams that would be eager to trade for Mitchell or Gobert if Utah decided to break up their partnership. Gobert said after Utah's 98-96 Game 6 loss that he would do his best to be the best Rudy he could be. Smith, Wade and Mitchell had a discussion about how the Jazz organization could be better. Smith, who declined to be interviewed for this story, considered the meeting to be a pleasant, casual exchange of ideas between prominent Jazz stakeholders while sharing a meal. Smith traveled across the country to meet Mitchell in his hometown for the second summer in a row. Establishing a relationship with the Jazz star has been a top priority. The Jazz, despite six straight playoff berths, have yet to break through with a legitimate playoff run, and the threat of Mitchell leaving Salt Lake City for a larger market looms over them. Major questions are swirling across the NBA after the Jazz season ended with another first-round exit, a significant step back for an expensive roster under pressure to win. Will Smith and Danny Ainge, the former Boston Celtics president hired by the Jazz in the middle of the season, attempt to change the roster around Mitchell, hoping he stays in Utah? Will coach Quin Snyder, who declined a contract extension last summer and would be coveted by teams with coaching vacancies, decide that eight seasons in Utah is enough? Mitchell has three years and a fourth-year player option left on his contract, but how long will he stay with the organization that drafted him? Multiple teams are waiting for the answer and have been scheming for months in anticipation of the three-time All-Star asking to be traded as soon as possible. Mitchell was non-committal when asked about the possibility. My mindset is to win. Mitchell said that he was not looking at asking for a trade. Mitchell sighed deeply before he continued. Mitchell said that he would think about it in a week and then make a decision. There were several additions and one notable departure during the 2021 offseason. The Jazz announced in a news release at the beginning of training camp that Mike Elliott, vice president of performance health care, decided to pursue other opportunities outside the organization. Mitchell lost his confidence in the recovery process after he tore his ankle in mid-April and missed the last month of the regular season. Mitchell's personal athletic training staff was assembled by his representation at Creative Arts Agency and led by David Alexander. Mitchell became irate when he was told that he wasn't ready to return, a decision made after another member of the team's medical staff told him he was cleared. Sources say Mitchell, who was hampered defensively due to his limited mobility, didn't demand the departure of Elliott. Smith, Wade and team executives were alarmed by how the situation unfolded. The front office and ownership usually don't keep staffers who clash with stars. There are additions. Murphy Grant was hired by the Jazz as an athletic trainer. Grant, who had been a senior associate athletic director and athletics health care administrator at Wake Forest, interviewed Mitchell, his mother and one of his agents. The player development coach who worked with James Harden in Houston was added to the coaching staff. Mitchell had worked with a man named Roland, who has emerged as a strong voice for social justice causes in his native Oklahoma and around the nation in recent years. Pregame and individual sessions are where Mitchell works with Roland. Frank Donalds, Mitchell's personal security guard, was put on the Jazz's payroll, a perk that is common for NBA teams to give high-profile stars. Mitchell wanted the Jazz to acquire his childhood friend Eric Paschall. Paschall, who was represented by Ty Sullivan, was a first-team All-Rookie selection in the year before, but fell out of the Golden State Warriors rotation in the second half of the season. The Jazz traded a protected future second-round pick for Paschall. A clear message had been sent: Mitchell's comfort in Utah was a top organizational priority. Questions to Gobert ranged from his second bout with COVID-19 to his general views on the state of the Jazz. The All-NBA big man was fresh off a five-game stint in the league's health and safety protocols, and Utah had struggled without him, going 1-4 and giving up points at a rate that would've ranked last in the league by a wide margin. Gobert said on January 14 that they are not at that championship level. Friday, April 29
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Gobert was concerned that the Jazz had been guilty of coasting. Many in the organization were concerned about it.
Gobert said that when the playoffs come, they are not just going to flip a switch and all of the sudden communicate, all of the sudden be able to rebound. They take every game very personally.
You can tell that Booker is not playing his game.
Mitchell, his inner circle and many with the Jazz immediately recognized how that reference would be received when he mentioned Booker. Gobert insists it was not intended to be a shot at Mitchell.
The big man was at the podium.
Gobert said he has been watching Booker two years ago.
League sources said that the example made some within Mitchell's inner circle feel like Gobert violated locker room protocols by pointing a finger at his teammate.
The Jazz's best perimeter defender and one of Mitchell's closest friends on the team, forward Royce O' Neale, said that anything Gobert says, he doesn't mean bad by it.
Mitchell tapped the like button on the Salt Lake Tribune quote.
Mitchell told the media that he was not concerned about it. That is really all. We all have our own ways of doing it, and he is one of them.
So, cool.
During a discussion with his teammates inside the locker room, Jazz point guard Mike Conley made a similar comparison, saying that the NBA-leading Suns were an example of a team playing with relentless effort and consistent focus. The star player at his own position was used to emphasize the point and make the message inclusive.
The next day, Clarkson said it wasn't like Gobert pointed out a big man or nothing.
Gobert said he understood why the mention of Booker raised so many eyebrows and put the spotlight back on his relationship with Mitchell.
Sometimes I can be clumsy with what I say, but I always speak my mind and it always comes from a place of wanting to win, Gobert said a few weeks later.
I told Don privately that everything I do on the court is to help him be better. I try to get him open, communicate with him, and try to push him defensively. All the things I do is to help my teammates be better.
Compete for $40,000 in the NBA playoffs. Pick your favorites.
The acrimony with Mitchell that resulted in them not talking for months was more important than basketball, according to Gobert.
Before the team began training for the NBA bubble, Gobert and Mitchell had settled that beef at the urging of their teammates.
Gobert said that the noise is always going to be there.
Mitchell has consistently denied that his relationship with Gobert has become awkward again.
We are good. Mitchell said in February that that was not true, as the Jazz were on the heels of the worst month of the eight-year tenure of Snyder.
Blatantly not true. We have never had this stretch of losses in a row, so now is the time for all these things to come out.
It's like, we're good.
After theJAZZ blew a 25-point lead on the road against the Clippers, Gobert called out his team for not being tough.
Gobert said that nobody hits nobody. We don't get our hands dirty.
In his return, Paul George dropped 34 points, leading the Clippers to their third 25-point comeback victory of the season.
The Jazz fell to fifth in the conference. The Mavericks beat the Jazz in Dallas two nights before Gobert missed the game because of a leg injury.
Mitchell said that it was difficult to just do one thing and then have to change. We came out with a lot of energy and fire, so I am happy with the guys that suited up.
Was that a jab at Gobert? It is difficult to say, but after Gobert criticized the Clippers, he said that his preference would be for the comments to be made in a forum that is more productive.
On the day of the game with local media, Snyder went off on a 19-minute soliloquy.
The coach focused on two subjects that he felt had been overblown, the Jazz's tendency to give up big leads and Mitchell's tendency to rarely pass the ball to Gobert.
The speech ended with an unintentionally funny observation.
When they eat, they sit at the same table. I don't know if they ride to practice together.
That didn't stop the discussion about the Jazz stars' chemistry.
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Gobert had grown frustrated that his pleas to focus on the issues he felt hurt the Jazz the most were often ignored. He was aware that his constructive criticism of Mitchell, even if he didn't mention him by name, didn't go over well.
Gobert doesn't care if Mitchell is projected to be an impact defender or not. I need that from my teammates as well.
It doesn't have to be uncomfortable. Sometimes it has to be uncomfortable.
MITCHELL'S five-year, $163 million maximum extension was an easy decision in November 2020.
If Mitchell qualified for All-NBA, the value of the contract would have increased to $195 million. His case diminished due to missing the last month of the regular season after he injured his ankle, he wasn't one of the six guards selected.
There wasn't any haggling about money.
Mitchell would get a player option for the final season of the deal, which was the sticky subject in the negotiations. He would. Mitchell gets what he wants in Utah.
Mitchell received his fifth-year player option on a rookies extension. After Mitchell signed with the Celtics, Boston's Jayson Tatum also agreed to his deal with the Celtics, and then the table was set for Luka Doncic and Trae Young to get player options in their extensions signed last summer. Only three of the 17 rookies max extensions included a player option under the current collective bargaining agreement.
Three deals were made: Paul George with the Pacers, Anthony Davis with the Pelicans and Kyrie Irving with the Cavaliers. In the middle of their contracts, all three pushed for trades from their small-market teams.
That history has fueled the belief throughout the league that Mitchell's long-term status in Utah is tenuous at best. Several executives from other teams have speculated that market size is important to Mitchell, a polished pitchman whose endorsement portfolio is highlighted by a signature shoe deal with Adidas.
Mitchell told reporters when the topic was broached that they all like to talk when they lose. All of us like to keep the negative stuff for when we start losing. There is nothing said when we win.
I will say that we are trying to win the championship.
The Utah Jazz have a sense of desperation to win while the window is open, although it wasn't reflected in the front office's actions before the trade deadline.
Utah's two major additions as the franchise retooled the roster around their cornerstones to construct the NBA's most efficient offense are 34 and 33 years old. The Jazz players were not immune to the discussion about whether Mitchell might seek a move in the future.
Gobert, who is in the first season of a five-year, $205 million extension that also has a player option in the final year, told ESPN that his only focus was to make this team better and win a championship. I cannot focus on those things.
Let's focus on today and see what we can do.
The commitment that Mitchell, Gobert, and the rest of the Jazz made to each other leading into the playoffs is that. Even if there are massive changes to their roster, they will try to seize the opportunity and not worry about what will happen in the future.
During his postgame interview, Gobert said "Man, f--- the talk" after that storybook Game 4-winning, series-tying alley-oop connection with Mitchell.
If theJAZZ needed a reminder of what the future could hold for their franchise superstar, all they had to do was look at the court during their April 16 playoff opener at Dallas.
The New York Knicks have an executive vice president and a power forward who are visible to television viewers every time the action changes ends of the floor. Allan Houston, the former All-Star shooting guard who is now the Knicks assistant general manager, sat behind the Jazz bench.
It was similar to when Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and other team executives would show up at Raptors games to try and recruit Leonard. Leonard was entering free agency, whereas Mitchell has at least three years before he can change teams without the Jazz's cooperation.
The Knicks are expected to target the Mavericks guard in free agency this summer. However, executives from other teams assume that the Knicks executives were part of New York's long-running relationship builders.
Since the Knicks hired Johnnie Bryant to be their associate head coach, the buzz has been building. The former Jazz assistant worked with Mitchell for the first three years of his career and still wears his signature Adidas shoes.
One Western Conference general manager said that the display was amateurish and compared it to coaches trying to lure players from other programs.
Mitchell scored 30 points in the second half and Gobert had a double-double as the Jazz beat the Mavericks in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Utah pulled out Game 4 in storybook fashion when Mitchell threw a pass to Gobert for the game-winning dunk with 11 seconds remaining.
Mitchell was an inefficient volume scorer for the majority of the series, and he blamed Dallas defensive player Dorian Finney-Smith for his struggles. He was a major part of the Jazz's perimeter defensive problems, particularly when Doncic recovered, and when he torched them for a pair of Mavs wins.
The Jazz, who had the NBA's top-ranked offense, were held far under their usual amount of 3-point attempts by the Mavs. The Jazz were shredded by a five-out offense when Gobert was put in the unenviable position of having to help the rim and sprint to challenge wide-open shooters.
The Jazz weren't good enough to beat a team that didn't have its best player for the first few games of the series. The Mitchell-Gobert era in Utah could be over this summer if the Jazz don't win a playoff series.
Utah is waiting to see if the other signature shoe will fall.
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