Eastern Conference contenders interested in Utah Jazz forward

Predictably, most of the talk surrounding the Utah Jazz right now is about the ongoing Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell situation, most have failed to look at the rest of this talented roster and consider that some of them may be up for grabs too. Jake Fischer and Marc Stein are reporting on their latest Spotify Live that at least three Eastern Conference powerhouse’s are interested in Utah forward Royce O’Neale, and given the fact that two of them have also been named as potential suitors for Gobert, things are about to get interesting in Salt Lake City.

It is being reported that the Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors are all interested in the 6’4″ small forward, and while Utah shouldn’t be selling him for cheap, if the right deal allows them to get another forward back in a potential Gobert deal, this would be great for the Jazz. O’Neale has averaged just 6.2 ppg over his career, and while that doesn’t draw the interest of teams, it’s what doesn’t show up on the box score that he has become known for, as he is a great teammate and a solid all around basketball player.

There’s no word on the asking price for O’Neale, or even if Utah would move him in a deal separate to Rudy Gobert, but if he is drawing interest from other teams, it means we could see sweeping changes in Utah this off-season. Given that Atlanta and Toronto have two pieces that could fit this team well in a Gobert trade (OG Anunoby and John Collins), this little wrinkle of interest in O’Neale could be the thing that gets this deal done.

Either way, Jazz fans should be keeping a close eye on the early days of free agency, as we may finally see an end to the Gobert/Mitchell saga, and if this report is to be believed, we could be seeing multiple new faces in the Jazz starting lineup to begin the 2022/23 season.