MEMPHIS, TN - NOVEMBER 29: Jonas Valanciunas #17 of the Memphis Grizzlies struggles for control of the ball between Donovan Mitchell #45 and Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz during the second half at FedExForum on November 29, 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Brandon Dill/Getty Images)
Utah Jazz: Mitchell isn’t down with Valanciunas’ flopping
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell was less than impressed with Memphis Grizzlies big man Jonas Valanciunas’ and his antics on Friday.
This may be coming from a Utah Jazz blog with its own, intrinsic biases, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who disagrees with the following statement: Donovan Mitchell is — objectively — a solid guy. Whether it’s giving his autographed shoes to kids at games or bringing people from the cheap seats up to courtside, Mitchell is always going out of his way to make a positive impact.
Having said that, the Jazz star isn’t above taking someone down a peg or calling them on out on Twitter if they’re acting the fool. Following the Jazz’s comeback victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, it was Jonas Valanciunas that Mitchell put on blast.
The reason: Mitchell was less than impressed by the Grizzlies center’s flopping. And Jazz teammate Joe Ingles apparently wasn’t feeling Valanciunas’ antics, either.
During the game, Mitchell became so fed up with Valanciunas flailing his arms about in an attempt to draw whistles that he re-enacted the floppage in front of him, which wasn’t exactly appreciated. In short order, the Jazz Twitter account turned the exchange into a GIF —
Later, a fan tweeted an extended clip of the exchange and Mitchell responded with a smirking face emoji. Ingles then chimed in with laughing-crying emojis, to which Mitchell responded: “He was actually dead serious,” followed by crying emojis.
Whether one agrees with how Mitchell handled the situation or not, there’s no doubting the fact that Valanciunas is a noted flopper. DeMarcus Cousins (a Jedi-level master of the flop in his own right) gave Valanciunas high praise for his mastery of the craft in 2017 —
Hassan Whiteside has also credited Valanciunas for his flopping skills, saying “Hats go off to JV; he’s a [Oscar]-award winning actor,” after the big man nearly got him fouled out of a game. Those skills were on full display against the Jazz.
Ultimately, the important thing was that the Jazz picked up the win; one that they needed badly in what has been a lackluster road trip. But, let it be known — if you’re making a mockery of yourself or the game of basketball, Donovan Mitchell is going to let you know as much.
