Is Donovan Mitchell a ‘great fit’ for Detroit Pistons?
Donovan Mitchell a good fit for Detroit Pistons?
In a vacuum: Absolutely!
For an offensively-challenged team like Detroit was last season, Mitchell would be an instant injection of scoring. He is also a pretty good passer, so he would work well in basically any offense.
Defense could be a problem, but the Pistons have plenty of tall-ish guards, so he could be hidden (Atlanta does it with Trae Young).
What about Jaden Ivey?
He is 19-years-old, so he could be the first guard off the bench, and learn the ways of the NBA with no pressure. Cunningham can always swing to the small forward position on defense if coach Dwane Casey wanted to put Ivey-Mitchell-Cunningham out there at the same time (Wouldn’t that be fun to watch!)
Related Story. Jaden Ivey really, really wants to be a Detroit Piston. light
However, in the real world, the Jazz are making Mitchell available because they are kind of clearing the decks for a rebuild, and looking for a massive haul of draft picks and players, much like what they got from Minnesota for Gobert.
Even after being the personal salary cap dumping site of the New York Knicks, the Pistons still have $8.7 in cap space available, according to Spotrac. General manager Troy Weaver also has some easily movable contracts, so matching up with Mitchell’s $30.3 million salary for next year would not be a problem
The biggest hurdle would be coming close to the insane amount of first-rounders (five!) either sent directly to Utah or via pick swaps by the Timberwolves, plus a bunch of players. Minnesota basically pushed all of its chips onto the table to get Gobert and ‘win now’.
Smith is correct, Mitchell would fit like a glove with Cunningham, but how would Detroit acquire him without mortgaging its future?