There was a time when it seemed like the Utah Jazz and their star center, Rudy Gobert, could go all the way to the NBA Finals.
They stayed competitive in the Western Conference for multiple seasons and were even the top seed heading into the playoffs during the 2020-21 season.
Yet they never capitalized on all that potential and repeatedly fell short.
Jazz CEO Danny Ainge and GM Justin Zanik agreed with Rudy Gobert's opinion that Utah's win-now window had closed. Zanik: "We fell short, so we need to recalibrate and try to go and open up the next window and hopefully it’s a long one. We’ve got work to do to start that."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 9, 2022
The team just started a brand new chapter recently as it traded away Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a slew of picks and assets.
For those paying attention, the move wasn’t a surprise and the writing was on the wall.
Apparently, the Jazz front office and Gobert came to a depressing understanding: they weren’t going to win it all any time soon.
Both sides agreed that the team’s “win-now window” had closed, meaning that a Finals victory in the near future had slipped out of their grips.
This led to the breakup between the Jazz and Gobert – and it leaves the team’s future in question.
What Now?
The chances of the Jazz staying very competitive next season are slim.
Utah is going to undergo some rebuilding, or “recalibrating”.
And they might be losing yet another huge part of their team: Donovan Mitchell.
The latest rumors say that Mitchell might be on the road to a new team soon too, meaning that both Gobert and Mitchell could be leaving the Jazz before the new season starts.
If the Jazz pull the trigger on sending Mitchell away, it will be obvious that a full-blown rebuilding phase has started.
Losing Gobert and Mitchell would mean Jazz fans should kiss goodbye any thought of winning now…or winning soon.
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