Could the Hornets get Donovan Mitchell?

The Charlotte Hornets are among a plethora of teams to have shown interest in acquiring Utah Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, according to Shams Charania.

Entering his age-26 season and with four years remaining on his contract, Mitchell represents an ascending asset who has already proven that he can lead a team to the postseason on a consistent basis. Mitchell enjoyed yet another strong season in 2022, posting averages of 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game en route to the Jazz finishing 5th in the Western Conference. Mitchell has also proven that he can elevate his came in the playoffs, as his career playoff averages in points, rebounds, three-point shooting percentage, and free throw percentage are all higher than his career regular season averages. He also has scored the most points in a playoff game of any active player, posting 57 points against the Denver Nuggets in the 2020 playoffs.

Mitchell has been connected to Charlotte for quite some time, as the Hornets were reportedly focused on selecting him with the 11th pick in the 2017 NBA draft.

Instead, the Hornets selected Malik Monk after he fell to them. The 2017-18 season would prove to be the final year of Steve Clifford’s initial tenure with the franchise, and it is fair to wonder if things would have unfolded differently had the Hornets selected Mitchell instead of Monk. Now, with Clifford back on the sidelines, a deal for Mitchell would make even more sense.

Mitchell has also expressed his admiration for Hornets majority owner and chairman Michael Jordan. Mitchell wears the No. 45 jersey to pay homage to Jordan’s career, as Jordan wore the No. 45 on the basketball court and on the baseball diamond.

A player of Mitchell’s caliber will require a hefty price to obtain, and with Jazz executive Danny Ainge’s history of trade hauls, a deal for Mitchell would also require substantial draft capital. Just a few weeks ago, Ainge and the Jazz received three rotation players and five first-round picks from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Rudy Gobert. While that deal does not necessarily dictate how a Mitchell trade will unfold, it is a barometer for how business with the Jazz must be done.

Any deal that Charlotte can offer would have to include either Gordon Hayward or Terry Rozier for salary matching purposes. The Jazz would likely prefer Hayward, as he has just two years remaining on his contract compared to Rozier’s four years. Hayward also has equity in Utah, as he spent the first seven years of his career in Salt Lake City and was named an All-Star in 2017 while with the Jazz. In this hypothetical, Utah would also receive a quality rotation player in PJ Washington and a promising second-year guard in James Bouknight, in addition to multiple first-round draft picks.

Charlotte, meanwhile, would likely prefer to include Rozier in the deal, as he becomes a bit redundant with Mitchell on the roster and would likely be relegated to a bench role. Neither Mitchell or Rozier are plus defenders, and both are a bit undersized at 6’1″. The same is true to a lesser extent about Bouknight, as his path to high-level minutes becomes trickier with the addition of Mitchell. PJ Washington would be a difficult inclusion for the Hornets, but he represents one of the better trade chips on the roster and would likely be viewed as a quality return by Utah.

A Donovan Mitchell trade would right the wrongs of the 2017 draft

It is fascinating to think of the butterfly effect of the Hornets passing on Mitchell on that fateful evening in the summer of 2017. Could Mitchell and Kemba Walker have formed a playoff-level backcourt? Would Steve Clifford have remained in Charlotte beyond 2018? Would the Hornets have ever acquired LaMelo Ball?

While the answers to these questions could be discussed ad nauseum, acquiring Mitchell would help the Hornets to begin writing their own history instead of pondering the past.