Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell is entering free agency in October but make no mistake, he will keep wearing the same jersey for another five seasons. After three years of sensational run in the NBA, the 23-year-old guard is set for a windfall as the Jazz will sign him to a $170 million max extension.
That piece of news came from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who claimed that the deal will be finalized by mid-October. The understanding is, as soon as Mitchell hits the open market Utah will secure his signature and he'll be in the Jazz lineup for at least half-a-decade.
The rising star is guaranteed a salary of $34 million per season and he'll be joining the elite club of the NBA's most expensive players. The contract award is well-deserved, according to NBA.com.
"Mitchell showcased his worthiness like never before during the Jazz's seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets," said the report.
Indeed, the Jazz star shone in the postseason even for a short period. He fired off an impressive 36.2 points per game in the series and his presence on the floor allowed Utah to erect a 3-1 lead, on the back of his 50-plus performance in two games. It might be a disappointment that Mitchell's team faltered and eventually lost to the Denver Nuggets but the excellence of Mitchell was hard to deny.
In fact, the guard raised his game to the postseason as the regular games only saw Mitchell converting an average of 24 points every outing. When his team made the playoffs, it all looked like that the New York native had decided to take matters to his own hand, Fadeaway World reported.
And going forward, Mitchell emerged as the one to lead the Jazz to greater heights in the upcoming campaigns, the report added.
However, there is a concern that Mitchell is not getting along fine with Jazz big man Rudy Gobert. The two maintained they are okay playing together but hints of a feud between the two have refused to die down.
It was suggested first that Gobert likely bringing the COVID-19 to the Utah locker room did not sit well with Mitchell. Then there are the talks of Gobert wanting to figure prominently in the Jazz offense. If the spat will continue and management is forced to choose between Mitchell and Gobert, it seemed an easy choice for Utah.
And it's fairly easy too to put the center on the open market. Gobert, after all, is among the NBA's top defenders and there will be a lot of interest once he is marked open for a business deal.
