LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – AUGUST 21: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images)
The Utah Jazz will extend Donovan Mitchell this offseason.
The Utah Jazz gave it everything they had in Game 7 of their playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, but an ill-fated Mike Conley jumper knocked Utah out of the postseason. Despite that pain in the immediate aftermath, the presence of Donovan Mitchell has the Jazz excited about the future, and they want to do everything they can to lock up their franchise cornerstone as soon as possible.
When free agency officially starts in the middle of October, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes is reporting that the Jazz will give Mitchell a max contract extension.
Donovan Mitchell was electric in the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets
Mitchell has averaged at least 20.5 points in each of his three seasons in the league, with his 24.0 points per game average in 2019-20 serving as his best offensive performance to date. Given his ability to handle the ball, sweet 3-point shooting, and skill at guarding multiple positions due to his wingspan, Mitchell has the potential to stabilize Utah in the competitive Western Conference.
Mitchell might’ve come up short in the playoffs this year, but he put up 36.3 points per game in his series against Jamal Murray and Denver. Only Hall of Famers Jerry West and Bob McAdoo has a higher PPG average in a losing playoff series.
The Jazz might need to add another scorer to take some of the pressure off of him, but Mitchell has proved that he is capable of being the marquee scoring option on a team like Utah that has legit championship hopes. If Utah is able to surround Mitchell with scorers and keep up Snyder’s patented energy on defense, they should be able to end up in the postseason regularly with the former Louisville star at the helm.