For Donovan Mitchell, the sizzling start of the Utah Jazz comes in with no surprise.
The former star Jazzman told Sean Deaveney of Heavy that the current Utah squad is well composed of respected leaders, trustworthy veterans, and promising young players that makes them special.
“They got hoopers,” Mitchell told Deaveney. “I don’t know why everybody was so quick to write them off.
“I think they got phenomenal leaders in that locker room. Mike Conley is a phenomenal leader. Jordan Clarkson is a phenomenal leader. Then they got Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen, guys who can really go … Malik Beasley. Like, they’re just not some slump. They have guys that can really go.”
After postseason shortcomings, the Jazz decided to pull the trigger and head on a reset – trading away their core pieces of Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic to gain a haul of assets that can help them position towards building a new era in franchise history.
While the general consensus around the league says that they will commit themselves to tanking and losing games, make no mistake because they are steamrolling the beginning of the 2022-23 season.
Behind the inspiring supervision of the 34-year-old rookie coach Will Hardy who instills a “prove them wrong” mentality, the Jazz are turning heads around with their brand-new style of basketball. As they sit atop the wild Western Conference with a 6-2 card, they remain poised to defy odds and expectations.
For Mitchell, the Jazz right now aren’t deserving to be underestimated just because of the fact that they broke away their core pieces and are now settling on the new guys around.
“You know, I think the world was shocked, because we traded me and Rudy and Bojan, and so I think they expected it to go south, and it’s not the case,” Mitchell continued. “I got a lot of respect for those guys over there. I talk to Mike and JC all the time. They’re still my friends.
“But, you know, they’re not bad players. Like I think people just kind of overreacted to the trade, but they’re working hard and getting wins that they deserve.”
As he now enjoys a new stage of his career by leading the Cleveland Cavaliers, it is truly good to see that Mitchell still has no love lost for the ball club that nourished his potential and growth to achieve stardom.
