Nothing exposes the thin line between success and failure like the NBA playoffs. An ill-timed turnover, and Chris Paul can turn from the Point God into the Point Goat. An unfortunate flailing of the arm, and the Warriors can go from greatest team ever to greatest meme ever. And in the case of the 2022 Jazz, a wide-open three can mean either a gutsy, season-saving win or an offseason filled with difficult questions.
The Jazz’s season ended Thursday, as Bojan Bogdanovic’s clanked three as time expired in Game 6 allowed the Mavericks to clinch their first-round series. Utah has been a subject of giddy conversation all season. Can Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert really play together? Who can the team get back for them in trades if they blow it up? Is Rudy more expendable? Or is Donovan really the problem? Oh, and is Quin Snyder going to coach the Lakers instead?
In this era of an insatiable appetite for player movement, it can sometimes feel as if people are trying to will trades into existence before letting events occur as they should. Remember, in this season alone anonymous executives around the league were salivating over the idea of the Celtics breaking up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown … until that duo transformed Boston into if not the best team in the East, perhaps the best team in the league.
