Jazz general manager refers to Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell as 'foundational pieces'

Ben Anderson: Justin Zanik said Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were foundational pieces. “Anytime that we can add to that, complement that, strengthen that, because this game is a team, this competition is a team game, and they’ve been huge contributors for us.” #TakeNote | @kslsports
Source: Twitter @BensHoops

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Vincent Ellis @AlabamaScribe56
Question for #PistonsTwitter:
If you could go back in time, would you still draft Donovan Mitchell if you knew it would make you too good to draft Cade?
Good time to ask because at this point we THINK Cade is gonna be a top-20 player. – 2:29 PM Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Justin Zanik on the Mitchell/Gobert relationship: “They’ve given themselves to this team. They’ve given themselves to each other. All the outside narratives is just a bunch of noise. Internally, I see it every day. These guys care about each other.” – 2:02 PM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Report: Other teams preparing for Donovan Mitchell to request trade from Jazz this offseason nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/29/rep… – 2:01 PM Ryan Miller @millerjryan
Justin Zanik on Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell: “All the outside narratives is just a bunch of noise. Internally, I see it every day, these guys care about each other.” – 1:28 PM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Zanik bristled at a question about balancing Donovan Mitchell’s growing influence vs. maintaining “organizational control,” saying, “I don’t appreciate the outside narrative of that being a binary choice.” – 1:26 PM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Justin Zanik rebuffed the idea of Donovan Mitchell carrying added weight on offseason moves.
“I totally disagree that that is anything — Donovan having influence over the organization.”
Said every player has influence of the organization and that the players drive that. – 1:24 PM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Asked if he believes Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell are good enough centerpieces for a title team, Zanik said that it’s not just about the stars, but also all the pieces around them: “It wasn’t enough this year. It’s our job to go out and make it be enough over time.” – 1:22 PM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Justin Zanik said Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were foundational pieces.
“Anytime that we can add to that, complement that, strengthen that, because this game is a team, this competition is a team game, and they’ve been huge contributors for us.”
#TakeNote | @kslsports – 1:21 PM Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
Finals stats from the Mavs-Jazz first-round series:
Jalen Brunson:
27.8 points per game,
4.8 rebounds
4.2 assists (vs. just 0.8 turnovers)
53.2% eFG%
Donovan Mitchell:
25.5 points,
4.3 rebounds
5.7 assists (vs. 2.7 turnovers)
43.6% eFG% – 1:13 PM StatMuse @statmuse
Donovan Mitchell last 3 playoffs 📉
2020 2021 2022
36 32 26 PPG
53 45 40 FG%
52 44 21 3P%
37 49 56 OPP FG%
+5.4 +1.9 -6.5 +/- pic.twitter.com/Y3NMjlctDY – 1:02 PM Marc Berman @NYPost_Berman
Donovan Mitchell watch begins for #Knicks after Jazz’s early playoff exit nypost.com/2022/04/29/kni… – 11:30 AM Sarah Todd @NBASarah
What Donovan Mitchell said about his future with the Jazz following another playoff exit https://t.co/mbujP4b5Vp pic.twitter.com/VHry6MMLZ6 – 11:16 AM Fred Katz @FredKatz
Mailbag, Part 2!
• Why were the Knicks worse than the numbers said they should have been?
* Jokubaitis rumblings
• GOAT Knick?
• A Rudy Gobert hypothetical
And more…
Story (with a $1/month subscription offer inside): https://t.co/qiJ80UuizW pic.twitter.com/PfRr4cKMoE – 10:58 AM Christos Tsaltas @Tsaltas46
Utah Jazz Playoffs run since 2017 (since Donovan Mitchell drafted at Jazz).
2017-18: Lost in Conference Semis
2018-19: Lost in 1st Round
2019-20: Lost in 1st Round
2020-21: Lost in Conference Semis
2021-22: Lost in 1st Round
The front office has to take some tough decisions. – 10:12 AM Stephen Noh @StephNoh
Congrats to the Pelicans and Raptors on amazing seasons. Tons to look forward to.
Jazz, you need to break out of the endless loop. Gobert isn’t working in Utah — It’s time to move him this offseason:
sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/it… – 10:08 AM Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Donovan Mitchell on his future: My mindset is to win. Right now, I’m not really looking at that
sportando.basketball/en/donovan-mit… – 9:30 AM Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Was this early exit the end of a pretty successful but disappointing chapter in Jazz history? One thing is for certain: Donovan Mitchell will have a lot of say in what comes next for Utah. ESPN story on the state of the Jazz: espn.com/nba/story/_/id… – 9:26 AM Jorge Sierra @hoopshype
A. Who’s the best player you would trade for Donovan Mitchell?
B. Who’s the best player you would trade for Rudy Gobert? – 8:41 AM Jorge Sierra @hoopshype
Donovan Mitchell is questioned about potentially asking out of Utah: “Right now, I’m not really thinking about any of that.” pic.twitter.com/mtNZ1c7Ska – 8:34 AM Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Donovan Mitchell said “yeah” when asked if he wanted to be in Utah. Asked about discussion around NBA he could ask for a trade, he said in part: “I’ll think about it in a week and go from there, but right now, I’m not really thinking about any of that.”
His full answer: pic.twitter.com/sIURXszDcC – 2:09 AM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Donovan Mitchell pressed again on whether or not he wants to be in Utah.
“My mindset is to win, right now I am not really looking at that.”
Said he’s not thinking about those things right now. Plenty of room for interpretation there.
#TakeNote | @kslsports – 1:58 AM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Donovan Mitchell, when asked to put to rest rumors that might ask out of Utah: “My mindset is to win. Right now, I’m not really looking at that. … I’ll think about it in a week. Right now I’m not thinking about that.” – 1:57 AM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Donovan Mitchell on the @Utah Jazz difficult season:
“I’m not going to put the blame anywhere else, we just didn’t do the job.”
#takenote | @kslsports – 1:56 AM Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
Donovan Mitchell: external or internal, we just didn’t do what we were supposed to do. We didn’t rise to the level of a championship team. And it starts with me” – 1:55 AM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Donovan Mitchell: “There was a lot of stuff going on. We just didn’t rise to the occasion. … I’m not gonna put the blame anywhere else. We didn’t do enough. That starts with me.” – 1:55 AM Sarah Todd @NBASarah
I asked Donovan Mitchell, Do you want to be in Utah?
“Yes…this hurts Sarah, I’m not gonna lie. But yeah, I do.” – 1:55 AM Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Donovan Mitchell:
“I love Quin. I love Quin….I think he’s done a phenomenal job leading us.” – 1:54 AM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Donovan Mitchell on Quin Snyder:
“I love Quin, he’s a guy that gave me an opportunity when I first got here.”
#takenote | @kslsports – 1:54 AM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Donovan Mitchell, on what went wrong: “There were times this season when the ball was rolled out that we didn’t show that we wanted to be a team with championship aspirations.” – 1:53 AM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Donovan Mitchell, asked if he wants to be in Utah: “Yeah. … This hurts, I’m not gonna lie.” – 1:51 AM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Donovan Mitchell said he wants to be in Utah.
“We fell short of our goal.”
#takenote | @kslsports – 1:51 AM Sarah Todd @NBASarah
When I asked Rudy Gobert what his confidence level in Quin Snyder is considering the recent chatter about Quin’s future with the team, he said:
“I loved my time with Quin,” but he didn’t offer a preference or really an endorsement. – 1:29 AM Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Rudy Gobert says his goal has always been to win a title in Utah and that remains true. But he recognizes that he could be part of a potential roster shakeup. “The rest is out of my control,” Gobert said. – 1:24 AM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Rudy Gobert on playing for Quin Snyder.
“I’ve loved my time with Quin.”
Understands it’s out of his control on whether Quin comes back or not, and didn’t really offer a preference either way.
#TakeNote | @kslsports – 1:24 AM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Rudy Gobert, when asked if he expects his partnership with Donovan Mitchell to continue: “When I came here 9 years ago, my goal was to win a championship here. Nothing has changed. But a lot of that is out of my control.” – 1:23 AM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Rudy Gobert, when asked if this team has reached its ceiling: “I don’t know. We have a lot of talent. This year we faced more adversity. I feel like we could be so much better. … You try to ask yourself why we can’t be consistent.” – 1:17 AM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Rudy Gobert on the @Utah Jazz locker room after the team’s season ending Game 6 loss.
“It’s silence. Its early, we’re not used to finishing so early. A lot of disappointment.”
#TakeNote | @kslsports – 1:15 AM Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
Rudy Gobert: we are hurting. We have a lot of disappointment because we had higher expectations – 1:14 AM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Rudy Gobert, asked what the locker room is like right now: “Silence. It’s early. We had higher expectations.” – 1:14 AM Mike Prada @MikePradaNBA
Jazz gave a great effort. Ultimately, they had to work way harder to avoid mismatches than Dallas did.
Underrated great play: Jalen Brunson rotating down early to Gobert on the Conley travel, then getting back to Bogdanovic in the corner before Conley could hit him. – 12:58 AM Gordon Gross @GMoneyNuggs
So are all of Gobert / Mitchell / Snyder gone? Is it a full teardown for the Jazz?
That’s 3 first round losses in 4 years, the player fit doesn’t work in the playoffs, coach might want out…
What parts change? Can they even do a retooling or is it Everything Must Go? – 12:41 AM David Hardisty @clutchfans
Utah has to make some tough decisions this summer.
Seeing the Atlanta Hawks improve this summer could be beneficial to the “Brooklyn picks” cause and there may be no better team positioned to make a move for Rudy Gobert than Atlanta.
Who says no to something like this? pic.twitter.com/kH7XAlKBs3 – 12:38 AM Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Jazz bought Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic to Utah in 2019 to help Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
Both Conley and Bogdanovic rushed 3s in final 2 minutes.
Conley had travel in transition after Gobert forced a Doncic miss
Bogdanovic missed a 3 that would have forced Game 7 – 12:31 AM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Let’s all start proposing fake Jazz trades.
My favorite is Rudy Gobert to Chicago. – 12:29 AM Eric Nehm @eric_nehm
I will be surprised if this is anything other than a Donovan Mitchell stepback triple for the win. – 12:24 AM Quinton Mayo @RealQuintonMayo
Donovan Mitchell pulled a LeBron-to-Gilbert Arenas at the FT line 🫣 – 12:24 AM Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
You can’t waste that stop by Gobert on Doncic like that. AK – 12:23 AM J. Michael Falgoust @ThisIsJMichael
Oh Conley. If he could only see behind him. Just throw it to the rim. Gobert likely cleans that up – 12:22 AM Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Jason Kidd iced Donovan Mitchell between FTs – 12:18 AM Eric Nehm @eric_nehm
Jason Kidd did not lose it. He used it.
Strong UIOLI too to ice/split the Donovan Mitchell FTs. – 12:17 AM Tom Haberstroh @tomhaberstroh
They’re hunting Rudy Gobert. – 12:16 AM Eric Nehm @eric_nehm
A Gobert dunk to tie it! Followed by a 3 by Dorian Finney-Smith to immediately untie it!
The takes will be glorious. – 12:11 AM Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Mitchell to Gobert game-tying assist, in case we’re still doing that… – 12:10 AM Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA
Gobert on 29 mins. Quin Staying with Paschall for now with 8 mins left down 5. – 12:00 AM Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
And the 12-point Utah lead is down to 4. I don’t think Gobert on Doncic is a mismatch in either direction: Gobert can’t attack Doncic down low, Gobert does pretty darn well on Doncic on the perimeter. – 11:30 PM Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA
Mitchell just hung out in the lane and his man Bullock got the 3 as Dinwiddie drove (but was contained) by Gobert. – 11:29 PM Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Mavericks have set themselves up for another double-digit comeback, trailing 53-41 at halftime. You know Bojan Bogdanovic was going to respond to his 0-for-9 in Game 5. He and Donovan Mitchell combined for 23 first-half points. – 11:05 PM Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Terrific finish to the half from Utah. They’re up 53-41 at the half.
Those non-Luka minutes were pretty ugly for the Mavs for the first time all series… the Jazz did a much better job of keeping Brunson/Dinwiddie in front. Gobert’s got just 2 points, but is a +18. – 11:05 PM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
It seems the Jazz all of a sudden learned that Rudy Gobert is on their team, and not protecting the paint for Dallas.
Jazz just getting layup after layup against a matador Mavericks defense. – 11:01 PM Ryan Miller @millerjryan
Donovan Mitchell up to 13 points on 6/9 shooting. He’s been much more effective finishing tonight. (5/5 around around the basket). Jazz lead 41-36. – 10:58 PM Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
This is the version of Donovan Mitchell I anticipated throughout this series… without a strong, big Dallas rim protector I thought he’d be able to slice and dice the Mavs like this more. He has 13, 6-9 shooting. – 10:57 PM Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Donovan Mitchell has been significantly more dialed in on defense and looks like he’s feeling it. But it’s the playoffs. As Hassan Whiteside said, “You can sleep tomorrow.” – 10:55 PM Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Finney-Smith complaining to the official during the last possession about Donovan Mitchell.
Jazz probably see that as a win no matter what the circumstances. At least someone is annoyed. – 10:19 PM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Rudy Gobert stung in the face by bee from his own hive nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/28/rud… – 10:00 PM Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
Mavs starters: Bullock, DFS, Powell, Brunson, Doncic
Utah starters: Bogdanovic, O’Neale, Gobert, Mitchell, Conley
9:10 Tip @theeagledallas – 9:31 PM Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Quin Snyder said that Rudy Gobert told him he was right-eye dominant, so the swelling in his left eye after the bee sting wouldn’t be much of a problem. – 8:44 PM Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan
Jazz coach Quin Snyder said no restrictions for Donovan Mitchell tonight after early exit from Game 5 with hamstring/quad issues: “He’s ready to go.” – 8:27 PM Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Quin Snyder says no restriction, minutes or otherwise, on Donovan Mitchell in Game 6 despite his Game 5 injury. – 8:27 PM Donovan Mitchell @spidadmitchell
Let’s go! – 7:29 PM David Locke @DLocke09
During the regular season Donovan Mitchell averaged 10.1 potential assists.
During the post season he is averaging 10.4 potential assists – 6:14 PM Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
I was trying to take a nap, but my editors wanted a serious news story on Rudy Gobert getting stung. It bees like that sometimes. espn.com/nba/story/_/id… – 4:01 PM Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Rudy Gobert and the bee: The who, what, when, where and why of Utah Jazz center’s playoff sting https://t.co/DfpXdB6nGJ pic.twitter.com/9CFUbunU1N – 3:08 PM Ryan McDonald @ryanwmcdonald
Maybe I was just not on Twitter right when it happened, but a little surprised the Rudy Gobert-bee story hasn’t generated more buzz – 2:40 PM Sarah Todd @NBASarah
As expected, Donovan Mitchell has officially been upgraded to available to play in tonight’s Game 6 – 2:40 PM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Donovan Mitchell is officially available for the @Utah Jazz tonight in Game 6.
#TakeNote | @kslsports – 2:40 PM Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Donovan Mitchell has been officially upgraded from probable to available for Game 6. – 2:39 PM Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
Donovan Mitchell is officially available tonight for the Utah Jazz in Game 6 against the Dallas Mavericks – 2:39 PM Ryan Miller @millerjryan
Donovan Mitchell is officially available to play tonight. – 2:39 PM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Donovan Mitchell is officially AVAILABLE for tonight’s Game 6 vs. Dallas. – 2:39 PM

More on this storyline

Multiple teams are anxiously awaiting the answer, league sources say, and have been planning and plotting for months in anticipation of the three-time All-Star asking to be traded as soon as this offseason. Mitchell was noncommittal when asked about the possibility in the wake of elimination. -via ESPN / April 29, 2022 Those three deals: Paul George with the Indiana Pacers, Kyrie Irving with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Anthony Davis with the New Orleans Pelicans. All three successfully pushed for trades from their small-market teams in the middle of their contracts. That history, in part, has fueled widespread belief throughout the league that Mitchell’s long-term status in Utah is tenuous at best. Several executives from other teams have also speculated that market size matters to Mitchell, a polished pitchman whose endorsement portfolio is headlined by a signature shoe deal with Adidas. -via ESPN / April 29, 2022 That isn’t the plan, according to several sources — at least initially. The Jazz, according to sources, are committed to building around Donovan Mitchell, which means taking a step back isn’t an option. Utah would like to keep climbing the mountain toward contention, and the Jazz feel like they still aren’t that far off, despite the disappointment of this season. -via The Athletic / April 29, 2022