Which Type Of Guard Should Be Paired With Donovan Mitchell?

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Ricky Rubio let the obvious cat out of the bag this week. And, no, we’re not talking about Donovan Mitchell’s beloved cat in the Vivint SmartHome commercial campaign.

Rubio “meowed” loudly to a Spanish media reporter that the Jazz were not going to make him their top free agent priority. That seemed like a forgone conclusion since the Jazz reportedly tried to trade the Spainard during the season for Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley.

So, if the Jazz are going to move on from Rubio which type of guard should Utah target this off-season: a point guard, shooting guard or combo guard?

Need A Playmaker

On the latest Jazz Notes podcast, Cleon Wall and Jeremiah Jensen debated which type of player would fit best next to Donovan Mitchell this upcoming season. Wall didn’t give Jensen much of a choice, assigning him to defend the position that Utah needed to sign a free agent or trade for a point guard this off-season. Jensen accepted the challenge and made some pretty good arguments.

“I think it’s clear they need a little bit more from that position,” said Jensen after outlining the fact that Rubio was not efficient offensively. “I want a playmaking guard who can be efficient with the ball, hand out more assists, less turnovers and shoot the 3.”

Jensen’s perfect candidate is the same guy the Jazz supposedly tried trading for last season: Mike Conley. Conley checks off the boxes of efficiency, defense, shooting and taking pressure from Mitchell to do everything all of the time.

Wall rebutted the argument, agreeing that Conley would make the Jazz better, but that he’s not a good enough player to lead Utah past teams like the Warriors.

“Right now, you are two years into the Donovan Mitchell experience. Why not just switch him over…and run the entire offense through him. I think the Jazz would be more successful doing that now instead of waiting and seeing if he can do that later,” Wall said.

Sounds like Ricky Rubio won't be back with the Jazz next season.https://t.co/BB5fCyctJK

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 2, 2019

Jensen is against the idea of forcing Mitchell into a position that he’s still learning and not comfortable with.

“You are making your offense less efficient by having (Mitchell) run it, because he’s turning the ball over and not making plays a veteran point guard would make. That’s why Mike Conley is so valuable because he would not turn the ball over as much,” Jensen stated.

Wall would rather that Donovan get comfortable with the point guard position now so that “Spida-Mitchell” can dominate that position later. Wall would rather the Jazz get a shooting guard that could take over when Mitchell needs help offensively. He would rather Utah target a guy like Jimmy Butler.

“You need someone who is a little bit taller, who can create more (offense) in the mid-range game… for late game possessions so that Donovan doesn’t have the pressure to make those (key) baskets all of the time,” Wall added.

D’Angelo Russell?

The two agreed to disagree on the kind of guard the Jazz should get to team up with Mitchell. Then again, Utah could end up with a combo guard of their liking if a star like Kyrie Irving ends up in Brooklyn and the Nets can’t keep All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell.

Mitchell and Russell are friends and spent some time together as noticed in Mitchell’s Instagram posts. Wall said it’s great that Mitchell and Russell are best buddies, but friends don’t always make the best teammates. And Wall also doesn’t like pairing up two inefficient guards next to each other, Russell averaged 21 points and 7 assists last season, but only shot 42 percent from the field.

“Both guys were in similar situations,” retorted Jensen. “Young guys who were asked to carry the load for the team and be the man….It’s going to create situations that you are inefficient…If you pair them together, all of the sudden that team’s defense can’t focus on one or the other. These guys become a nightmare. They become much more efficient players because they can play off of each other. So I think they would be great together.”

Do you want to see D'Angelo Russell in a Jazz uniform next season?https://t.co/xfX7HxXEXt

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 4, 2019

Also in the Jazz Notes podcast, Jensen and Wall also talked about who would take over as Mitchell’s running partner if Utah signs a big free agent at another position, the likelihood Utah keeps their 1st round draft pick and if the Jazz should sign Rodney Hood.

The Jazz Notes podcast drops at least weekly and can be found at sports.ksl.com, the KSL Newsradio App, Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers.