Somewhere in here, the Jazz evolved into a different version of themselves.
And, of course, they just lost in six games to a Dallas team that was missing Luka Dončić for half the series - an inexcusable defeat for a team that fancied itself a title contender. They were also leading Game 6 by 22 points at halftime let us not mention what happened after that. They won the first two games against the Clippers a year ago and were still tied 2-2 when Kawhi Leonard was ruled out of the series. The Jazz were favored against Denver in 2020 and owned three of the first four games of the series only to suffer three straight narrow defeats. Recent postseasons, alas, have gone the opposite direction. The first few iterations of Quin Snyder’s Jazz teams overachieved in the playoffs, most notably when they ran the Thunder in circles in a 4-2 series win in 2018. Yet things have been increasingly weird in Utah ever since it blew a 3-1 lead against Denver in the 2020 bubble. Gobert and Mitchell are both still on the good side of 30. Yes, the Jazz just lost in the first round in disappointing fashion, but they won 49 games in an accredited basketball conference this season and had the league’s third-best scoring margin and its top-ranked offense. It’s been a heck of a run, even if it didn’t result in a conference finals trip, and it doesn’t necessarily have to end right now.
Amazingly, they did all this immediately after their best player at the time, Gordon Hayward, bolted as an unrestricted free agent in 2017. They had the NBA’s best record in 2020-21, won two playoff series, had multiple All-Stars for three straight seasons and got three players into the 2021 game.
Thanks for everything, Rudy! You were consummate professional your entire time here, provided a huge boost to the Spurs bench amidst the retirement of players like Manu Ginobili, and you will always be appreciated and fondly remember here (oddly, unlike in Memphis and Toronto).Īlso good luck to Gorgui and Trey! Hopefully they have found situations where they can play and contribute.We don’t know yet if this is the end, but it sure feels that way.įor half a decade, the Rudy Gobert– Donovan Mitchell version of the Utah Jazz has been among the league’s most successful teams. With the Jazz, he joins another team that when healthy can definitely contend for a title, and once again he could possibly be that final piece that they need to get over the hump. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way as Leonard only played eight games the following season before demanding a trade, and the Spurs never came close to getting Gay the ring he was seeking when he signed here. Despite coming off an Achilles injury, he would be the perfect backup to Kawhi Leonard, give the bench another go-to scorer, and possibly be that final piece to help the Spurs get over the hump that was the seemingly unbeatable Golden State Warriors.
Gay came to the Spurs ahead of the 2017-18 season, and at the time it felt like a big signing. Rudy Gay is signing a two-year, $12.1M deal with the Jazz, with a player option, his agents Raymond Brothers and Sam Permut said.