But the three-time Defensive Player of the Year will make an average of $42.4 million over the next four seasons, and despite his accolades he has plenty of skeptics around the league who view him as an expensive offensive liability. We’ll see whether he’s the next domino in Utah. There’s no guarantee Mitchell is as valuable to any other team as he is to the Jazz: young, talented, under contract, and the face of the franchise.

Mitchell is a high-level talent, but he’s only 6-foot-1 and we’re currently watching a postseason in which inferior defenders and smaller players are being hunted over and over. But are the Pistons willing to give up the fifth pick? Are the Pacers willing to move off the sixth? Both of them provide size in the backcourt, can play with or without the ball, and are pass-first creators. Mitchell might find the best version of himself if he’s paired with a point guard like Cade Cunningham in Detroit or with Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana. Mitchell has plateaued a bit as a playmaker but he also hasn’t yet played with a true creator. So good, it should come with a spoiler alertĪt a minimum, Ainge will gauge the value of every player because that is what he has always done, so Jazz fans should be prepared for potential major change. The goal was always to hang more championship banners, and the Jazz hired him to run their front office hoping he could deliver the first title in their 48-year history. I’ve heard stories about him privately telling players, draft picks, and new acquisitions the same thing. For years, Danny Ainge told reporters in Boston that no player was untouchable. Just as Mitchell can explore his options, the Jazz will do the same. Any young team with valuable picks and assets, from the Magic to the Kings, could swing a trade for the star guard. But any theoretical preferences of Mitchell’s don’t matter that much, given that he signed a five-year max contract extension in 2020 and still has three guaranteed seasons remaining. Maybe New York, where Mitchell was born? Or Miami, where he trains every summer? Both teams could use a star. Teams around the league are already buzzing about who might pursue Mitchell.

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That’s why Mitchell is right to wonder: What the hell is going on around here?

But following a sixth straight early postseason exit, Snyder’s departure could be the first domino of many that leads to an overhauled team next season, namely with Mitchell and/or possibly his teammate Rudy Gobert on the move. The Jazz could do worse than continue to build around a 25-year-old All-Star who’s scored 50-plus points in a game twice in the playoffs. Mitchell might just want clarity about the team’s direction, and he might get it, stick around, and win a lot more games. But now that it’s official, I read the latest news about his feelings as an indicator that his camp wants the world to know he’s not happy in Utah. The reaction seems a bit dramatic considering we’ve known since March that Snyder had rejected contract extension offers and could step down (possibly to become Gregg Popovich’s successor in San Antonio, according to Marc Stein). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is “unsettled,” “unnerved,” and “disappointed” by the news. The First Domino Falls in UtahĪfter eight years with the Jazz, Quin Snyder stepped down as head coach on Sunday, declaring the team needed a new voice. Here are seven thoughts on what’s happening around the NBA, including the deadlocked Finals, the drama out of Utah, and what I’ve heard this past week in San Francisco: 1.

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