3 reasons Donovan Mitchell is going to leave the Utah Jazz

3 reasons Donovan Mitchell is going to leave the Utah Jazz: 2. Rudy Gobert

It would be really unfair to lay the blame on why Mitchell possibly wants to leave the Jazz on one player. It is an even bigger stretch when you consider center Rudy Gobert is a multiple-time Defensive Player of the Year, and despite the lazy thoughts of many, is actually much more than a big body who clogs up the paint.

But while there is so much to like about Gobert’s game, he has also had some pretty ugly playoff performances. The kind that make a franchise and his co-star wonder if anything can ever significantly change while they are both together in order to go even deeper into the postseason.

The fact Gobert has been played off the floor in multiple playoff series in the past has to be a sticking point at this stage. It is all well and good to dominate during the regular season, but if Mitchell is then expected to do it all alone in a seven-game series against an elite opponent, they are never going to make the Finals.

Mitchell’s comments could mean he already knows this, and after securing a max contract, is now trying to get out of town. Returning to Simmons as a case study again, for the longest time, it was thought that both he and Joel Embiid could not co-exist on the same roster if the 76ers were serious about winning a championship.

Now that Simmons is gone, on the part of the 76ers at least, that looks correct. Say what you want about Harden and his varying degrees of caring each week. but the fit of Embiid and Harden is just better.

Imagine if Mitchell had a more mobile big like Karl-Anthony Towns alongside him, while Gobert had… well Gobert actually has it pretty good. Change is necessary to overcome obstacles that continue to block a path, and splitting up Mitchell and Gobert is the most obvious one.