The Utah Jazz have charted their course for the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. But if Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert could've had their way, they'd have run it back one more time.

In a recent appearance on JJ Redick's podcast The Old Man and the Three, the new Cleveland Cavaliers guard spoke at length on pleading their case to Jazz executive Danny Ainge to give their team another shot.

“We told Danny, ‘Look, let's not make this big blow-up trade,' said Donovan Mitchell. “Everybody assumed I asked to trade Rudy. I said let's run it back. Say what you want, we have our differences for sure, but both of us understand the value we have playing together as a group and what we could have possibly have done together at that time.”

While it's admirable that Donovan Mitchell wanted to keep the team together, it's hard to feel confident in their future as a group after the brutal first-round defeat at the hands of the initially undermanned Dallas Mavericks.

“I'm thinking take some time off, this hurts, we'll figure it out, maybe add a couple of things, change a couple of things but we're gonna be back,” Mitchell continued.

As things stand, most of the Jazz core have moved on to better situations, with Gobert and Mitchell finding themselves as key components on young, emerging playoff contenders. They may have wanted to stay together, but the parting of ways may be the best result for everyone involved – especially if the Jazz land Wembanyama.