The consensus during the first few weeks of the season was that Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma was the steal of the 2017 NBA draft. However, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George has thrown Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell’s name into the conversation of biggest draft steal.
“He's really good. Honestly [he] could be the steal of the whole draft and for sure should be top two or three in rookie voting. I know Donovan. I had the chance to work out with him during the draft. We have the same agent so I worked out a lot with him in the draft and I knew he was going to blossom.”
Paul George is a big Donovan Mitchell fan. Says “he could be the steal of the draft” and is top two or three for Rookie of the Year: pic.twitter.com/p6uLA9cmc4
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 5, 2017
Mitchell, the No. 13 pick in the draft, has emerged as one of the catalysts of the Jazz’s recent resurgence. Since being inserted into the starting lineup 13 games ago, Mitchell is averaging 19.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc.
Aside from sharing the same agent, Mitchell similarly has the same two-way star potential which George eventually developed. The Jazz rookie has shown he’s got the length and ability to be an elite defender like PG-13 and is already much further along offensively than George was in his rookie year.
If Mitchell continues to produce as well and as consistently on the offensive end as he's shown recently, he could very well prove George right and be considered the steal of his draft class.
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