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After the Utah Jazz fell to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs, former Boston Celtics‘ President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge made some major changes over the offseason. Following the resignation of Head Coach Quin Snyder, Ainge traded stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively.
Even though Mitchell and Gobert have been put on teams that are expected to make the playoffs at the very least, according to Mitchell, neither he nor Gobert wanted the team to be blown up following their playoff elimination.
In an interview with former NBA player JJ Redick, Mitchell said he told Ainge ahead of time that both he and Gobert wanted the team to remain intact.
“We told Danny and them, ‘Look, let’s not make this big blowup trade,'” Mitchell said. “Everybody assumes I asked to trade Rudy. I said, ‘let’s run it back.’ Say what you want. We had our differences for sure, but we understand the value we have playing together as a group and what we could possibly have done together at that time.”
Ainge and Utah’s front office did not abide by their wishes. Though Ainge traded away Mitchell, Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic, among others, the Jazz have won their first three games, one of which was against the Timberwolves.
Gobert Trade Signaled to Mitchell That He Was Next
When the Mavericks eliminated the Jazz, Mitchell initially believed that the team would run it back with the same roster.
“I’m thinking, ‘Alright, cool. Take some time off. This hurts. We’ll figure it out. Maybe add a couple things, change a couple things, but we’re going to be back,'” Mitchell said.
Before being traded, Mitchell admitted that the Gobert trade signaled to him that the Jazz were changing things up, which meant he was next to hit the trading block.
“Then I’m with Will (Hardy), talking about the whole situation, and then Rudy gets traded while we’re having a conversation at my house, and I’m like, ‘All right, well, we’re probably going in a different direction. At that point, I was probably like, ‘I’m probably going to be next,'” he said.
He then added that he probably should have seen the direction the Jazz were going earlier but was too focused on improving his game.
“The writing was on the wall, and I probably should have looked at it earlier, but I was so focused on ‘Don, how can I be the best player for myself?’ because I wasn’t that for my team. I wasn’t my best self,” he said.
Mitchell’s Start With Cleveland
Mitchell has picked up right where he left off since joining the Cavaliers. In their first three games of the season, the Cavaliers have gone 2-1, which is due in part to Mitchell scoring 30+ points in his first three games with the team. More impressive, Mitchell is the first player in their franchise history to do that.
This included a 37-point performance against the Washington Wizards, in which he put up on 12-for-29 shooting from the field, including five-for-12 shooting from three.
