Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are gone, but the Utah Jazz almost certainly aren’t done making moves, according to ESPN senior writer Zach Lowe.
“It’s full on fire sale time,” he said during the Sept. 1 edition of his podcast, “The Lowe Post.” “They’re going to move.”
Lowe and his guest, ESPN’s NBA front office insider Bobby Marks, discussed several possible trade scenarios involving Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and just about everyone else still on the Jazz roster. It’s possible that a new deal will emerge out of talks that started when Mitchell was still on the trade block, they said.
“There’s nothing but Danny Ainge’s demands to stop Lakers from trying to straight up trade (Russell Westbrook) to Utah for Bogdanovic and Conley,” Lowe said, noting that Westbrook was rumored to be involved in some of the original Mitchell offers.
He noted that the main roadblock in the way of a Jazz-Lakers deal is that the Jazz would likely want high-value picks in addition to Westbrook. The Lakers may be able to find a less costly trade with more upside elsewhere, Lowe said.
If the Jazz focus, instead, on moving Bogdanovic and Conley separately, they’ll have more potential trade partners to work with. Marks predicted that Bogdanovic will fetch the Jazz around a lottery-predicted first-round pick.
“He’s got a great deal. ... And he was about 39% from three last year,” he said.
Lowe suggested that New Orleans, Phoenix and Miami could all be good landing spots for Bogdanovic. Conley, meanwhile, could get interest from Dallas or Chicago, he said.
Regardless of what happens next, Lowe said he understands if Jazz fans feel like they’ve been slapped in the face. Two years ago, the team had the best record in the NBA. Now, they’re in full rebuild mode.
“They had a great story. Great offense. ... (But) it ran its course and it’s over now,” Lowe said.