In this year’s playoffs, the Utah Jazz hobbled to a first-round exit, losing to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. With the loss, many are questioning the future of the team.
Despite being one of the best regular-season teams, Utah’s star duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert have yet to get past the second round together in five years.
Many believe the Jazz will choose to split them up this summer. And since Utah wants to build around Mitchell, Gobert has already begun receiving interest from multiple teams around the league.
NBA Rumors: Rudy Gobert drawing interest from Toronto Raptors
According to NBA rumors from Ian Begley of SNY, the Toronto Raptors are one of those teams. Begley stated that they “are among the teams who would have a degree of interest in trading for him if he’s made available.” (H/T Bleacher Report)
Toronto finished the year with a 48-34 record, which is a whopping 13 wins over their expected over/under, which was set at 35.5, according to Basketball-Reference.
Fred VanVleet made his first All-Star team, Pascal Siakam could potentially land on an All-NBA team, and Scottie Barnes took home the Rookie of the Year Award.
All-in-all, it was a very successful season for the Raptors, despite their disappointing first-round exit, where they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in six games.
Trading for a defensive monster like Gobert could help transform Toronto’s roster, as they currently don’t employ any player above the height of 6’9.
Nick Nurse likes to run various small-ball lineups that place players like Precious Acihuwa, Siakam, and Thaddeus Young at the center position. Bringing in Gobert would completely change that.
In order to bring Gobert on board, the Raptors would likely have to trade away either one or both of OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr., both of whom are young players on the rise.
However, adding Gobert to their already staunch defensive lineup could place them amongst the Eastern Conference contenders. A trio of Gobert, VanVleet, and Siakam would be one of the best in the league on both sides of the floor.
Whether or not the Jazz trade Gobert at all this summer is unknown, but if they do, expect the Raptors to come knocking with one of the more intriguing trade packages in the NBA.