The Utah Jazz have been in disarray for the last few weeks. Since the announcement that head coach Quin Snyder would leave his post as head coach this week, trade rumors have been swirling regarding the team’s biggest stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. More recently though it seems as if a certain Eastern Conference team has turned up the heat on a possible trade of Gobert.
According to reports, the Chicago Bulls have emerged as a legitimate trade destination for the former Defensive Player of the Year. The Utah Jazz have reportedly expressed an interest in Gobert and the Chicago Bulls have stood out as a reasonable trade spot. Gobert would help give the Bulls a legitimate defensive presence on the interior, a need that was apparent in their first-round loss to the Milwaukee Bucks during the playoffs this year.
Potential trade packages would almost certainly include center Nikola Vucevic, an offensively gifted center who offered little on defense for the Bulls and could be seen as an offensive addition to a core that already included Zach Lavine and DeMar Derozan. Patrick Williams has also been floated as a potential piece in the trade as well, as it would give Utah a young, athletic and defensively gifted wing, one of their biggest priorities this offseason.
As for the other superstar, Mitchell, it is reported that the Jazz have “not entertained rival teams’ overtures to steal away All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell.” This comes after the initial report that Mitchell was “unsettled” after Snyder’s departure from the team.
There are still many other teams that would have a strong interest in Gobert. The 29-year-old is a three-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, six-time All-Defense and three-time Defensive Player of the Year. The Frenchman is considered one of the best defensive players in the league and a generational defender. As of now, neither the Bulls nor Gobert have put in a formal trade request.
