Getty Boston Celtics general manager Brad Stevens.
The Utah Jazz could be in for a major overhaul in the offseason. Quin Snyder has already stepped down as head coach, and there has been doubt surrounding the Utah futures of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
Calling Snyder’s exit the “first domino” to fall, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor wrote that Gobert could be next.
In a June 6 story, O’Connor brought up multiple teams who could potentially vie for Gobert’s services in 2022-23: the Memphis Grizzlies, the Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics.
“I could also theoretically see a team like the Grizzlies viewing Gobert as a worthy upgrade over Steven Adams. Maybe the Suns feel the same about him over Deandre Ayton,” O’Connor wrote. “Or maybe the Celtics lose in the Finals and decide they can’t trust Robert Williams III to stay healthy, so Brad Stevens calls Ainge to offer Williams, Aaron Nesmith, Derrick White, and multiple firsts? Gobert in the Williams role could potentially unleash the best version of him that we’ve ever seen.”
If the Celtics were to agree to such a deal, they would be pairing Marcus Smart, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, with a player who’s won the same award in three of the previous four years.
Robert Williams III’s Injury Issues
Now in his fourth year with the Celtics, Williams grew this season in his role as starter. His positive impact led to his being led to him being voted to the 2021-22 NBA All-Defensive Second Team, but he hasn’t done much to dispel that he’s injury-prone. He’s has yet to appear in more than 75% of the Celtics’ games in a season, and now he’s been ruled out for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Since the Celtics elevated Williams into a bigger role in 2019-20 onward, here are his games-played totals.
2019-20: 29 out of 72
2020-21: 52 out of 72
2021-22: 61 out of 82
This season, Williams averaged a career-high in minutes per game (29.6) before tearing his meniscus on March 27 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Since coming back in Game 3 of Boston’s first-round matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, Williams’ minutes per game have gone down to 21.1. He’s also missed multiple games in the playoffs because of a knee bruise.
Gobert has missed some stretches for the Jazz, but the most games he missed in one season were 26 in the 2017-18 season. Since then, he hasn’t missed more than 16 games for the Jazz.
Gobert Predicted Boston Would Win the 2022 NBA Title
After the Celtics eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks on May 15, Gobert tweeted his pick that Boston would win it all.
I got Boston winning it all this year.
On May 23, Gobert later praised Boston’s defense as tough as Boston was in the midst of defeating the Miami Heat 102-82 to tie the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.
This Boston defense is tough
Defense has been Boston’s calling card all season. Depending on what they’d have to give up in a package, Gobert could fit what they do like a glove.
Even if Gobert were to be on the move this offseason, Mitchell probably will stay put under Snyder’s successor in Utah.
Tony Jones of The Athletic reported on June 5 that the Jazz have no plans to trade Mitchell. In fact, they intend to build around him.
Multiple teams have called to inquire about the trade availability of Donovan Mitchell, only to be given a firm no, sources tell @Tjonesonthenba.
The Jazz have made it clear they intend on building a roster around Mitchell.
t.co/V7eiEgneKs
“The only thing that could possibly pry Mitchell from the Jazz at this point is a monstrous offer,” Jones wrote. “They simply don’t have the intention of trading him.”