Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell serve as the heart and soul of the Utah Jazz but reports said the two All-Stars are feuding after contracting COVID-19. Despite this, there is little chance that the Jazz will move to break up the tandem.
Gobert and Mitchell caught the deadly virus but thankfully recovered. However, it soon emerged that the latter had ill-feelings toward the big man, thinking he was reckless when the coronavirus pandemic was just breaking out in the United States.
It would seem that following the episode, seeing Gobert and Mitchell working on the floor again might be impossible. One could be moved out but according to Bleacher Report, the Jazz are not entertaining the idea.
Citing the report from Tony Jones of The Athletic, the story said trading away the French-born center might be out of the question since he is the team's most important element, defense-wise. And Gobert is an offensive weapon for Utah as well, averaging 15.1 points and 13.7 rebounds in the suspended season.
In short, the Jazz consider Gobert, who is twice the NBA's defensive king, an asset that the club is unwilling to give up.
The same thing applies to Mitchell, whom the same report described as Utah's "untouchable ... and a dynamic talent. The shooting guard has reached All-Star status at 23 and it appeared that he will be Utah for a long time.
The Jazz not wanting to trade any of Gobert and Mitchell is understandable as the duo were responsible for the team's good run in the season. Before the games were halted, the two led the way for Utah's impressive campaign and chalked up 41 wins so far in 64 games.
So the Jazz are certainly looking good and making unnecessary changes that involve the team's best players should not be expected anytime soon.
Strangely though, Clutch Points reported that Gobert's relationship with his teammates was not exactly standing on solid ground. Even before the COVID-19 spread, several players have preexisting issues with the center, said the report, citing the claims made by David Aldridge of The Athletic.
"There have been rumblings well before either of them contracted coronavirus that the Jazz were growing weary of Gobert," Aldridge was reported as saying.
The journalist clarified though that while the Jazz will not actively look for a trade deal on Gobert, he is not necessarily unavailable should there will be interesting offers. The report indicated that the big man while prized by Utah ending up to a new team next season should not come as a surprise.
