The Case For (And The Case Against) Going All In On Donovan Mitchell

Mitchell's career postseason scoring average of 28.3 PPG is the sixth-best in NBA history, behind only MJ, Iverson, Durant, West and LeBron.

As soon as the Jazz traded Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves for an almost unimaginable haul of players and picks, alarm bells went off in New York.

Real quick, before we get into the Mitchell stuff, I have to say I remain stunned by how much Minnesota gave up in that deal. Seventy-two hours later, and I still can't believe it. Here's what I keep coming back to: Let's say Rudy was a free agent this summer. If I were Minnesota, would I be willing to sign him to his current contract (a four-year contract worth $170 million that will pay him a salary of $47 million in 2025-26)? Probably not. Yet, if he was a free agent and Minny wanted to roll the dice by pairing him and KAT together (ignoring that teams capable of shooting the 3-ball will go small and shred them in the playoffs), I could accept that. But trading a 2020 first-rounder and a 2022 first-rounder and Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt and an unprotected 2023 first-round pick and an unprotected 2025 first-round pick and an unprotected 2026 pick swap and an unprotected 2027 first-round pick and a top-5 protected 2029 first-round pick, just for the opportunity to gamble on Gobert… is insanity. 

Okay, back to Rudy's former teammate.

Why Trading for Donovan Micthell Makes sense:

You need superstars to win in the NBA. Donovan Micthell is a budding superstar.

Are there flaws in his game? Yes, and we'll get to those in a moment. But, make no mistake, Mitchell is one of the most lethal offensive threats in the NBA today.

This past season, Mitchell finished in the top ten in scoring (25.9 PPG) to go along with 5.3 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 3.5 made three-pointers per game.  

Earlier this year, Mitchell and the Jazz were soaring. In early January, the league announced Mitchell was named Western Conference Player of the Month for December after he averaged over 30 points a night and was incredibly efficient in the process, shooting 50.2% from the field, 38% from three-point territory, and 87% from the free-throw line. Utah posted an NBA-best 12-2 (.857) record that month. 

Mitchell was particularly devastating in pick-and-rolls this past season, averaging 12.4 points per contest as the ball-handler in P&R play types. That ranked second-best in the NBA, behind only Trae Young and ahead of Luka Doncic and Ja Morant, who rank third and fourth, respectively. Among those four, Mitchell posted the highest effective field goal percentage (53.8%). As I discussed in the write-up on Jalen Brunson, having a player who can attack defenses off the pick-and-roll is crucial for New York under coach Tom Thibodeau, who relies heavily on P&R action. 

It's also important to remember that Mitchell, at just 25 years of age, has yet to enter his prime. And that's a scary thought. For some historical context of just how prolific he's been since entering the league, consider this:

Through 345 career games, Mitchell has tallied 8,234 points, 1,542 assists and 1,433 rebounds. Only five other players in NBA history have matched or exceeded those totals in those statistical categories through their first career 345 contests. Those five players are LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Pete Maravich, Dwyane Wade, and Oscar Robertson.

Just as importantly, that production has led to wins, with the Jazz having qualified for the playoffs every year of Mitchell's career. Utah's streak of sixth-straight playoff appearances is the longest active playoff streak in the Western Conference. Over the past six seasons (2016-22), Utah has the best winning percentage in the West and the third highest in the NBA (trailing only Milwaukee and Toronto).

And although the Jazz struggled in the playoffs this past season, Mitchell has played at an incredibly high level when the lights shine brightest. Coming into the 2022 postseason, in the 17 playoff games Utah had played over the previous two years, Mitchell averaged a whopping 33.9 points and 4.9 treys per contest. Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic were the only players to post a higher scoring average during that stretch. 

Mitchell's career postseason scoring average currently sits at 28.3 points. That's the sixth-best playoff scoring average in NBA history (minimum 30 games played. Here is the all-time list:
1. Michael Jordan (179 games): 33.4 points per game
2. Allen Iverson (71) 29.7
3. Kevin Durant (151) 29.5
4. Jerry West (153) 29.1
5. LeBron James (266) 28.7
6. Donovan Mitchell (39) 28.5

That's pretty good company. 

We can also factor in Donovan's New York connections. Mitchell was born and raised outside NYC. His father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., is a former minor league baseball player who works for the Mets as the club's director of diversity, equity and inclusion. The younger Mitchell spends much of his offseasons in New York and has often been spotted at Citi Field over the past few weeks.

Mitchell also has a very close relationship with Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant, who mentored Mitchell during his days in Utah before joining head coach Tom Thibodeau's staff. Marc Berman of the New York Post has reported, "Bryant is a key figure in the Knicks' long-term hopes of Mitchell tiring of playing in one of the NBA's most obscure markets in Salt Lake City." In addition, New York team president Leon Rose served as Mitchell's agent before leaving CAA to join the Knicks' front office. 

"Some say it's only a matter of time before he joins former Creative Artists Agency agent and current New York Knicks president Leon Rose," Ric Bucher of Fox Sports wrote earlier this year.

Rose and company also have what Utah is looking for. New York has plenty of draft capital (the rights to nine first-round picks over the five years) and several promising young players on their roster, including RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish, Quentin Grimes and Obi Toppin.

The problem is the Knicks will likely only get one legitimate opportunity to push their hard-earned chips into the middle of the table in a deal for a franchise-altering star. Is Mitchell definitely that guy? 

The Case Against Trading the Farm for Mitchell 

Would Donovan Mitchell make the Knicks a better team? Absolutely. He'd immediately be the best Knick since prime Carmelo Anthony.