Rocio Robles
Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz were eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs for the second time on Thursday night, after the Dallas Mavericks battled back from behind in Game 6 of the series to remove the point guard and his team.
For Mitchell, this is the fifth postseason experience without reaching the Conference Finals and the third time the Jazz have failed to advance past the first round with him on the court. This is a very hard blow for the stellar player, who had hoped that things would be different this time.
After this early elimination, things are not getting any easier within the organization. Management is ready to make decisions that will change the team’s direction after several years of frustration, and Mitchell’s departure could be the solution: something that both the player and the Jazz have denied in the first instance.
“I’m a competitor and I feel like if you give us another chance, we can make it. But by the same token, there are things that could change. I’m not ready to discuss that, to be honest with you right now. Mentally, I’m just not in the state of mind to be completely honest with you. This sucks. If you ask me that a week from now, perhaps I will talk, but right now I’m not in a position to answer that for you.”
Donovan Mitchell, to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps on whether he will be traded.
Mitchell is under contract with the team through the 2025 season, and the only way out would be through a trade. This is something similar to what is happening with Rudy Gobert, the French center who also signed a multi-million dollar contract until 2025-2026.
At the moment, both have commented that they aren’t thinking of leaving the organization, but surely the preseason moves could change their minds. Both names are in strong trade rumors and if Mitchell does not have a competitive team for next season, he could request trades to team management.
While it’s true that his relationship with Gobert isn’t ideal and that they’d be better off apart, it’s also true that they’re both the heart and soul of Utah. If the team loses Gobert, it’ll have to make very bold moves, which don’t appear to be in the cards, to maintain or improve their competitiveness.
Meanwhile, Mitchell has done his part. In the regular round, he was the Jazz’s best scorer and in the postseason, he also responded against a very complicated defensive team like the Mavericks, against whom he averaged 25.5 points in the six games they played.
The next few days will surely be ones of analysis and confusion, but once the season is over, Donovan Mitchell’s days will be quite busy as he is being pursued by many teams and will surely have to make one of the toughest decisions of his entire career.
Social networks did not forgive the elimination of Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz.
Another elimination of the Utah Jazz could not go under the table for social media, with Donovan Mitchell being one of the most vilified of the team.
Will this be the last time we see memes of Mitchell in a Jazz uniform?
