With plenty of rumors surrounding their franchise main man Donovan Mitchell from the past several days, Joe Ingles isn’t convincingly buying all of it.
As such, the Jazz veteran just brushed off the talks about the 25-year-old leaving Utah because of what he currently observes.
“I don’t think Donovan wants to leave,” Ingles said on Thursday, via Eric Walden of Salt Lake Tribune. “We see him every day, and he loves where he’s at, he loves our team.
“If they were … around us every day and heard him say he wants to leave, that’s completely different. But they’re not.”
This week, an Eastern Conference scout revealed that the Jazz are in danger of losing the explosive guard, as they are “the first-round exit” away from seeing Mitchell leave for the New York Knicks, per Ric Bucher of Fox Sports. Earlier this January, the two-time All-star was also rumored of wanting to play in a big market team.
While the Jazz remains a team of scrutiny for underachieving on their past playoff exploits and failing to reach the conference finals, the Knicks are meanwhile struggling to claw their way back of Eastern Conference after enjoying relative success last season. With star Julius Randle reported on the trading block for a justifiable return, the sense of urgency to save their future is on.
Still, the commitment and willingness of Mitchell to stay in Salt Lake City will certainly swing on the Jazz’s playoff battles to come. As he is playing the first year of his five-year max contract deal he inked in 2020, there must be some hopefulness on the side of the Utah management to surround him with the best supporting cast with the given long duration.
