Amid the reverberations of Quin Snyder’s departure after eight seasons as Utah Jazz coach, all-star guard Donovan Mitchell is described as “unnerved, unnerved and wondering what this means for the future of the franchise,” sources told ESPN on Sunday.
Mitchell considered Snyder a key part of his argument for committing to a five-year contract extension in 2020, and Snyder’s decision to step down on Sunday left Mitchell “surprised and disappointed,” sources told ESPN.
Mitchell continues to love Snyder and accepts his reasons for resigning, but he is spending the immediate aftermath of Snyder’s decision processing what the larger-scale loss of the coach means for the organization and for himself, sources said.
2 relatives
Utah is expected to begin searching for a coach immediately, sources said. Snyder has had a .623 win percentage over the past six seasons, the third-best in the NBA, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. He was 372-264 (.585) in his eight seasons with Utah.
Mitchell, a two-time All-Star, made the Western Conference playoffs in each of his five seasons and became the first guard since Allen Iverson to average 20 points in each of his five seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Snyder, the second-winning coach in franchise history behind Jerry Sloan, had developed a strong relationship with Mitchell and co-star Rudy Gobert.
The Jazz have reached the semifinals of the Western Conference twice in the last five years, but have been eliminated in the first round in each of the last two seasons. The Jazz plan to aggressively upgrade the team in the trade market this summer.
Mitchell has four years and $135 million left on his contract – including a player option for last season.
Comments are closed.