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Another disappointing early playoffs exit might force the Utah Jazz to make a tough decision in the offseason. At the moment, they still have both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert on the team, and there isn't a lack of discussion out there pointing to a potential split of that duo via a trade.
Not so fast.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the Jazz might actually keep them until at least the end of the 2022-23 NBA season mainly because of an intriguing reason outside of the team's pursuit of a championship.
The 2023 NBA All-Star Game will be in Salt Lake City, a detail that multiple league sources connected to the Jazz have painted as a critical element of the franchise's future plans. It's of great importance to Jazz governor Ryan Smith that Utah has multiple players in that midseason classic, sources said, similar to how the Cavaliers were represented by both Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen during the 2022 affair in Cleveland.
Mitchell will not be a free agent until at least 2025 when he has a decision to make on whether to pick up his $37 million player option for the 2025-26 season. Gobert, on the other hand, is also under the same circumstance, but with a much bigger player option at $46.65 million. The two stars don't have the sweetest of relationships, but it appears that they will have to continue trying to co-exist in Salt Lake City for the foreseeable future.
