Mitchell wants to stay in Utah, admits 'things that could change' with roster
Donovan Mitchell reaffirmed his desire to continue his career with the Utah Jazz despite yet another difficult playoff exit.
"Yes ... this hurts Sarah, I'm not gonna lie," he told Deseret News' Sarah Todd when asked about wanting to stick around in Utah. "But yeah, I do."
However, after Thursday's Game 6 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks confirmed a 15th straight year without a conference finals appearance for the franchise, Mitchell acknowledged that the roster could be primed for a dramatic shakeup this summer.
"I'm a competitor, and I feel like if you give us another crack at it, we can go get it," Mitchell said after the 98-96 loss, courtesy of ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "But in the same token, there's things that could change.
"I'm not ready to discuss that, to be honest with you right now. I'm not. Mentally, I'm just not in that headspace, to be completely honest with you. I'm really not. To me, it sucks, yo. If you ask me that in a week, maybe, but right now I'm not in a headspace to answer that for you."
Mitchell can enter free agency in 2025 at the earliest if he refuses to exercise a $37.1-million player option for the 2025-26 campaign, according to Spotrac, leaving a trade as the only way he can prematurely exit the club.
Utah, though, remains committed to building its roster around the 25-year-old, sources told The Athletic's Tony Jones. But while fellow Jazz star Rudy Gobert also reportedly hopes to remain with the organization, multiple teams are interested in trading for the French big man in the event Utah decides to part with him this offseason, according to Jones. However, it remains unclear which sides are ready to make a run at the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Gobert is under contract through 2025-26 after signing a five-year, $205-million extension in December 2020.
Many rumors have floated around in recent years about a supposedly strained relationship between Mitchell and Gobert. However, the Jazz's franchise stars appeared to be on the same page this postseason, which they demonstrated with their clutch alley-oop combination to win Game 4 of the series.