Donovan Mitchell: Who was traded for| Spider| Defense

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been traded for Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. Three-time All-Star Guard. Today we discuss about Donovan Mitchell: Who was traded for| Spider| Defense

Donovan Mitchell: Who was traded for| Spider| Defense

Donovan Mitchell Jr. (born September 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. He was selected by the Denver Nuggets as the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and was traded to the Utah Jazz on draft night. During his rookie season, Mitchell was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and won the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest. Mitchell is a three-time NBA All-Star.

Who was traded for

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Jazz are trading star guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers for three unsafe first-round picks and two pick swaps. There are unsecured selections in 2025, 2027 and 2029 with pick swaps taking place in 2026 and 2028.

Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes also reported that Cleveland is sending Laurie Markkanen, Colin Sexton and Ochai Agbaji to Utah as part of the deal. According to The Athletics sham Charnia, Sexton is signing a new four-year deal worth $72 million, which is fully guaranteed in a sign-and-trade deal.

Mitchell averaged 23.9 points, 4.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds on 45% shooting from the field last season. He was also named in his third straight All-Star Game. Mitchell was drafted by Utah from Louisville with the number 13 pick in the 2017 draft, and with he and Rudy Gobert now gone from the franchise, it appears as though the Jazz are entering a complete rebuild.

Spider

For the record, it’s ‘spida’ with an ‘a’ and not ‘e-r’. Donovan Mitchell has kept the nickname for a while. It has stayed with him during his time with the Utah Jazz in the NBA. As the name grew with them, so did Spida sneakers and Spida shirts. However, Michelle doesn’t have the most exciting story when it comes to how she acquired the name.

Donovan Mitchell’s Basketball Career

Donovan Mitchell played two seasons of college basketball in Louisville. His career stats certainly weren’t mind-blowing, but he had potential. In his first season with the Cardinals, he started only five games and averaged 7.4 points per game. He then saw more than double that output with the 2016–17 season averaging 15.6 points-per-game.

Mitchell was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft. The Utah Jazz took a shot at the 6-foot-1 guard with the 13th pick overall. Mitchell did not disappoint and that draft proved to be a steal.

Defense

The conversation around Mitchell’s defensive ability has been incredibly fueled by recency bias.

The Jazz was smitten by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs this year. During the six-game series defeat, three of which Luka Doncic didn’t even play in, Mitchell struggled to defend someone, resulting in media, podcast heads and Twitter fingers going wild with statements about Mitchell’s defense. She was

But let’s not twist it. Mitchell has been a relatively good defender during his five NBA seasons and has all the tools to be exactly that.

The 6’1″ guard has an absurd 6’10” wingspan and, as a defensive specialist, came in the league bill. His defensive numbers have dropped a bit each season as he was asked to do more on the offensive side of the ball, but his metrics last year kept him in solid company.

In the 2021–22 season, Mitchell ranked 63rd in defensive win substitutions. All advanced metrics should be taken with a grain of salt, sometimes more, but it put them above great defenders like Jew Holiday, Mike Connelly, and Derrick White.

During the 2020-21 season, Mitchell finished an even more respectable 55th in defensive win substitutions.