SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 23: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz guards Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 23, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell continues to push Paul George recruitment
Donovan Mitchell continues to make it clear that he feels strongly that Paul George should consider joining the Utah Jazz in free agency.
When Donovan Mitchell makes a promise, he’s gotten into a habit of delivering. One of the most impressive such moments that comes to mind was following the Utah Jazz‘s Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs. After that game, a video surfaced of Mitchell telling OKC fans, “We’ll see y’all next year!”
In other words, he was stating there would be no Game 7. Mitchell made it clear that he and the Jazz would take care of business on their home court in Game 6 to eliminate the Thunder and advance to the second round.
Narrator: And that’s exactly what happened.
Mitchell held true to that promise in a spectacular way. He put in a playoff career-high 38 points on 53.8 percent shooting from the field and 62.5 percent shooting from deep to put OKC away in spite of Ricky Rubio‘s absence due to injury. As he had done on so many occasions throughout the season, the rook came up big.
More recently, on a podcast with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Donovan Mitchell made it quite clear that he had every intention to attempt to recruit Paul George to Utah. Though his chances at success are likely slim at best, he has certainly held true to his word in every way.
First, he posted an image of Paul George and himself embracing one another with the hashtag #NationalBestFriendDay to go along with it–
https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1005321075436277761
There was clearly no intent of subtlety there.
More recently, Mitchell has carried his clear message to Paul George far and wide. In an appearance at the Adidas Store in Taguig, Philippines on Sunday, Mitchell made a further pitch to the Oklahoma City Thunder star. Per Slam Magazine and CNN Philippines, Donovan had the following to say regarding Paul George–
We want to win, we’re not selfish. I’m not the type of guy who’s kind of like, Oh, it’s my team. I’m a rookie, a second-year player. He’s an All-Star.
If he comes in, it’s gonna make our life easier in the offensive end. He’s a great defender.
We have guys who want to play with him. We went though a tough first series because of him.
We have guys that understand what it takes. If we don’t score 30, it’s not the end of the world to us.
So I think a guy like him—and I single him out specifically—would thrive in our organization.
He then concluded by adding–
We have a crowd that’s incredible and sells out every night. Salt Lake City is a beautiful place. People don’t give it enough credit. I’m from New York, and I’m saying that it’s a really beautiful place.
That’s a pretty impressive sales pitch from a player who’s logged just one year in the NBA. Credit Donovan Mitchell for bringing up a lot of good points that certainly should at least tempt PG.
And personally, I love that Mitchell once again is throwing any sense of subtlety to the wayside. His comment stating, “I single him out specifically” was pretty dang gutsy and cool, as well as impossible for George to overlook.
It’s also hard to argue with Donovan. George’s skill set on both ends of the floor could very well be the ideal missing piece that the Jazz need to pair alongside Rudy Gobert‘s elite defense and Donovan Mitchell’s scoring to elevate Utah into becoming a legitimate contender.
Hearing him bring up such praise about the crowd and beauty of Salt Lake City was awesome to hear as well, especially in light of some of the comments that George’s current teammate Russell Westbrook had to say about fans in Utah. Donovan’s loyalty to the Utah Jazz organization has been nothing short of amazing thus far and as he continues to spread such a message, there’s no doubt in my mind that eventually he’ll help usher a big-time talent into Utah’s ranks.
Said player probably won’t be Paul George. As noble as Donovan’s efforts have been thus far and as cool as it is to see him out there pushing such an unwavering message of recruitment to PG, chances are that they won’t pay off this summer.
But it’s certainly worth the try. And at the very least, no one can deny that Donovan Mitchell is a man who holds true to his word.
