16-35 is pretty common for pros too. It's a very versatile lens - has VR so it's good for run and gun shooting at events, takes screw on filters so it's good for when you need to get fancy but don't want to lug around a huge filter kit, and has a zoom range that pairs well with lots of other lenses if you have a two camera set-up. It's definitely not the sharpest lens out there, but it's more than sufficient for all but the most demanding gigs - honestly it's probably amateurs that more often demand better, because they shoot to their own high standards rather than just meeting the needs of clients.

So I'm very surprised that Nikon's discontinuing it - the 14-24 meets a completely different need, and the 18-35 isn't nearly as versatile despite being sharper, due to the lack of VR and the missing 2mm.

I suppose on the mirrorless side the 14-30 f4 isn't a bad replacement, but for DSLR users it's a significant gap.

Sure, but those lenses don't offer particularly exciting performance, and there are lots and lots of options in those ranges. I don't think there are a lot of professional or serious amateur photographers who are going to miss them, and newcomers likely won't even know they existed.