Conley Provides Opportunity For Mitchell To Find NBA Identity

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Donovan Mitchell is Mr. Everyone. He is loved and respected by his teammates, fellow NBA players and especially fans.

Mitchell is the proverbial good guy that Dad’s would want their daughter to marry.

But does the young star really know who he is on the basketball court?

Happy birthday young @spidadmitchell 🎉! More blessings and see you soon 🙏🏽. pic.twitter.com/yGw29VkHN2

— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) September 7, 2019

On the latest Jazz Notes podcast, host Cleon Wall praised Mitchell for scoring 16 points and dishing out 10 assists in Team USA’s final game over Poland.

Wall loves a guard who can do a bit of everything and Mitchell seems to be a prime candidate. Although, he would like to see Spida-Mitchell play an “all-around game” every time he steps on the floor.

“I feel like I’m betraying his identity…I want to see him play more like a point guard…but I feel like I’m taking away the fact that he’s still probably going to be the best playmaker/scorer on the Utah Jazz.  I don’t think I can have it both ways.  So, if I’m going to have it just one way…I would like to see him score more,” said Wall.

#MountainTime #TakeNote #MountainMike pic.twitter.com/c34k38YW7L

— Mike Conley (@mconley11) August 28, 2019

“You say you want him to do both?” said KSL Sports’ Jeremiah Jensen, who understands that so many people want so much for Donovan.  “With Mike Conley in the lineup, he will be able to do both.  Mike Conley is versatile as well.  Conley can play off the ball…he can spot up and shoot 3’s.”

Jensen believes that’s why Conley is the perfect partner for Mitchell.

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Has Mitchell defined himself yet?  Wall said it has been implanted in him by the team that he needs to a scorer.  While Jensen is of the opinion that Mitchell is still figuring things out.

“I think he’s found the confidence that he belongs in the league…He’s still trying to improve his game.  He’s going to go through some growing pains…He’s going through a process and all of the greats go through it…I’m comfortable that he fully doesn’t know who he is yet,” Jensen added.

Top 5 Jazz Centers

Also on the podcast, Jazz Notes’ Top 5 of All-Time Jazz players at each position comes to a close with the best centers to wear a Jazz uniform. Wall was certain Jensen would coronate Rudy Gobert as the king, but Jensen wasn’t ready to do that just yet – currently, that top spot belongs to Mark Eaton.

“The only reason I put Rudy below Mark Eaton is that Eaton was an (NBA) All-Star once and Rudy hasn’t got there yet.  They both won two Defensive Player of the Year awards, they both block shots…I don’t think people appreciate what Mark Eaton did for those (Jazz) teams in the late ’80s and early ’90s,” Jensen defended.

Eaton holds the single-season record of blocked shots with 456.

Rudy becomes just the second player in Jazz history to win multiple Defensive Player of the Year Awards (Mark Eaton 1985, ’89) and the 10th in league history to claim the honor more than once.#TakeNote | #NBAAwards
» https://t.co/UlyU0t5JmP

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 25, 2019

Wall stuck with his “futures bet” on Gobert similar to when he said Mitchell was Utah’s best shooting guard after only two seasons.

“I just look at (Gobert) and I know he is better than Mark Eaton.  I know he’s more athletic than Eaton, he can cover more ground than Eaton,” said Wall.

Hear the rest of the top 5 in the latest Jazz Notes podcast.

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.