The moment trade talks between the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz intensified for Donovan Mitchell — a strange but predictable occurrence took place around the league — people began talking about his resume and skillset in a much more negative light.
People looking to poke holes in his game seem to bring up two narratives in particular for why Mitchell might not be worth his asking price.
The false narratives about Donovan Mitchell have been flying since he was linked to the Knicks
False narrative 1: Donovan Mitchell can’t play defense
Let’s start with the defensive criticism.
The conversation around Mitchell’s defensive ability has been incredibly affected by recency bias.
The Jazz got smoked by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs this year. During the six-game series loss, three of which Luka Doncic didn’t even play in, Mitchell struggled to guard anybody, resulting in the media, podcast heads, and Twitter fingers running wild with statements about Mitchell’s defense.
But let’s not get it twisted. Mitchell has been a relatively good defender throughout his five NBA seasons and has all the tools to be exactly that.
The 6’1” guard has an absurd 6’10” wingspan and came into the league billed, in part, as a defensive specialist. His defensive numbers have gone down slightly each season as he was asked to do more on the offensive side of the ball, but his metrics last year still put him in solid company.
In the 2021-22 season, Mitchell ranked 63rd in defensive win replacements. All advanced metrics should be taken with a grain of salt, sometimes more, but this put him above great defenders such as Jrue Holiday, Mike Conley, and Derrick White.
During the 2020-21 season, Mitchell finished an even more respectable 55th in defensive win replacements.
Mitchell also finished within the top 20 in steals at 1.5 and has always averaged at least a steal a game throughout his career.
Never forget his 37 points and eight steals performance in the Summer League.
The final point around the fixation on his defensive performance in last year’s playoffs is a more personal one for him. Rumors have circulated for years that Mitchell wasn’t super happy in Utah and had a strained relationship with Rudy Gobert, in particular, starting around the beginning of the pandemic.
Rudy Gobert playfully touches microphones at media availability days before reportedly testing positive for coronavirus. https://t.co/NFPIhrvHBM pic.twitter.com/Z8uwyVGXWv
— ABC4 News (@abc4utah) March 12, 2020
At one level, defense is still hugely about effort, and it seems likely that Mitchell would double down on this side of the ball if put on a new team in comparison to what he mentally might have been going through during his third first-round playoff loss in his first five seasons.
False narrative 2: Mitchell only scored in the playoffs in the NBA Bubble
“Mitchell’s playoff average is only that high because of the bubble.” That’s just not true, Twitter user645678.
Mitchell elevates his game in the postseason and now has a 39-game sample size to show that he can score at the highest level of NBA play.
People love pointing to the 36.3 points Mitchell averaged over seven games against the Denver Nuggets in the 2019-2020 NBA Bubble playoffs, including the 57 (third most in NBA history) he put up in Game 1 of that series.
But they talk a whole lot less about the 32.3 points he averaged the following playoffs outside the bubble over 10 games.
In his career, Mitchell averages 28.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in the playoffs, compared to 23.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in the regular season.
The man can take over playoff games in a way that nobody on the current Knicks roster, including Jalen Brunson, can.
To add some extra compliments and statistics to Mitchell, he was one of five players in the NBA last season to be in the 100th percentile of offensive usage rate and one of the best shooters off the dribble in the league.
The asking price is undoubtedly steep for Mitchell, but the Knicks need to take advantage of trading for a superstar player (who can play defense and score in the playoffs) entering the prime of his career.
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