On Monday morning local time, former Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller hugged Quin Snyder tightly at the end of the press conference. This hug marked the completion of Snyder's 28-year head coaching tenure. end. As he officially bids farewell to the Jazz, will the Jazz usher in a turbulent future?
After learning that Snyder chose to resign, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell felt "surprised, upset, and didn't know what this means for the future of the team." According to ESPN reports, being able to play for coach Snyder was an important reason why Mitchell completed a five-year maximum salary extension with the Jazz in 2020. Snyder's decision to resign surprised Mitchell. Disappointed again. But after the incident, although he respected Coach Snyder and accepted the reason for his resignation, Mitchell was still digesting the direct consequences of Snyder's decision and trying to figure out what this incident meant to the team. and what it means to yourself.
Mitchell's reaction seems to be a "drama queen". For us onlookers, Snyder's departure was actually foreshadowed. As early as March this year, there was news that Snyder might leave the Jazz after rejecting the Jazz's request for an early contract extension. At the time, the famous NBA reporter Mark Stein said that Snyder might return to the Spurs and take over from Gregg Popovich.
In six years, the Jazz have never advanced beyond the Western Conference semifinals, no matter how good their regular season record is. After years of not being able to go any further, Snyder's departure may just be the first domino to be pushed.
The team needs a new voice, and the core of the team seems to need to be redefined.
After being eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks, the Jazz are one of the most active teams in the trade market. On June 8, Beijing time, Bleacher Report reporter Jack Fisher reported that the Utah Jazz “have been one of the most active teams in early offseason trade conversations in recent weeks, with the most intriguing players among them. He is All-Star center and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert . Sources revealed that the Jazz did not respond to other teams' applications for Mitchell, but the Jazz management has indeed placed Gobert. "
Mitchell's contract currently has four years and $135 million remaining, including a player option for the final year. Gobert's current contract is five years and $205 million, expiring in the summer of 2026. Gobert, who is about to turn 30, has won the Defensive Player of the Year three times, been selected to the All-Star Game three times, entered the All-NBA Team four times, and was selected to the Defensive First Team of the Year for six consecutive years. Both men's contracts are still very long, but given that the relationship between Mitchell and Gobert has already cracked, the continued cooperation between the two may see the Jazz regard Donovan Mitchell as a non-tradable asset, which will mean that the ball The possibility of the team's core Gobert being traded has greatly increased.
Last month, Fisher broke the news that the Toronto Raptors were interested in Gobert. The Ringer reporter Kevin O'Connor also wrote an article confirming this. At the same time, he also pointed out that if the Jazz puts center Gobert on the trading shelf, the Chicago Bulls will be interested in chasing him. If the Bulls want to trade for Gobert, they must send out the team's All-Star center Nikola Vucevic .
Vucevic 's current contract is 4 years and 100 million US dollars, expiring in the summer of 2023, and next season is the contract year. The bargaining chips that the Bulls can propose include Vucevic, as well as young insiders Patrick Williams , Javonte Green, etc. This deal is very maneuverable. First of all, for the Jazz, Vucevic's contract is a very valuable expiring contract. If the deal is completed and the Jazz get rid of Gobert's big contract, even if Vucevic and Mitchell do not have a good chemical reaction next season, they can let him go free, and then the team will have more than 2,200 million in salary space.
Secondly, Vucevic is one of the key players for the Bulls to achieve a breakthrough this season. Vucevic is a big man who focuses on offense, but in the Bulls, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, the two scorers, occupy a large amount of the ball and shot rights. , he made a lot of sacrifices. Under this circumstance, he can still average 17.6 points, 11 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, shooting 47.6% from the field and 31.3% from three-point range. He has offensive abilities and shooting threats that Gobert does not have. Compared with Gobert's current contract, his $22 million contract appears to be a bargain.
From the perspective of a bull, it is reasonable for them to have such an idea. Four years ago, the Bulls decided to match a four-year, $78 million offer from the Sacramento Kings to LaVine. Now, what LaVine has shown is definitely more than his current salary of $19.5 million. This summer, LaVine is eligible to renew a five-year max contract with the Bulls worth $210 million. If he signs with another team, he can get a contract worth up to 4 years worth approximately US$157 million. Considering that LaVine is destined to get a big contract in the offseason, the Bulls management has been considering replacing the team's center since the trade deadline in February this year. They have been eager to add more defensive teammates around LaVine.
Gobert’s defense goes without saying. Although the three-time Defensive Player of the Year has received a lot of praise for his defense, many around the league are skeptical of him. Gobert will earn an average of $42.4 million per year over the next four seasons. Considering Gobert's poor offensive ability, skeptics believe that he will become an expensive offensive burden on the team. A point often made among league executives: From a team-building perspective, there is a limit to how much salary can be invested in defenders who lack offensive skills. Next, Gobert's salary is at the level of a top superstar, which is similar to players such as Curry, Durant, Antetokounmpo, James, Leonard, and Paul George. No matter how good he is on the defensive end, his impact on the game cannot be compared to that of stars at these levels for roughly the same salary.
Therefore, the Bulls also have many doubts about Gobert's transaction. Assuming that the Bulls really form a starting lineup of LaVine, Ball, Caruso, DeRozan and Gobert, will this lineup really have such a big impact on the team's playoffs upgrade?
In this year's playoffs, Gobert averaged 32.7 minutes per game, scoring 12 points, 13.2 rebounds and 1 block. Shooting 63.6% from the field and 68.2% from the free throw line. He has little presence on the offensive end, and he also has fatal shortcomings on the defensive end, and is often targeted by his opponents. In the series between the Jazz and the Mavericks , the Mavericks took advantage of the fact that Gobert couldn't defend the three-point line and played to death. The offensive and space problems the Bulls encountered in this year's playoffs will not be solved by the arrival of Gobert. Furthermore, if you think about Gobert's huge contract, is it worth paying Patrick Williams to get him? This is a 20-year-old forward who can contribute in the playoffs. At first, your Bulls wanted to acquire Jerami Grant from Pistons , but it failed because you were determined not to give up Pawei. Now you are willing to give him up as a bargaining chip?
Now that the Jazz coaching position is vacant, the core players are at odds, and the future is unclear, the Bulls might as well focus on Knicks center Mitchell Robinson . You can also spend a small amount of money on errands.
