‘I can be a dog’: How No. 9 NBA draft pick Davion Mitchell can help Sacramento Kings
Kings general manager Monte McNair said the decision to select Baylor point guard Davion Mitchell with the No. 9 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft was all about taking the best player available regardless of the team’s positional needs.
There were immediate questions about Mitchell’s fit in a crowded backcourt that already features De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Delon Wright and restricted free agent Terence Davis. Mitchell won’t make the Kings bigger, longer or stronger — and he certainly won’t solve Sacramento’s problems if starting center Richaun Holmes leaves in free agency — but McNair believes he will make them better.
“In the draft, we try to block that out and just focus on this is really a player we hope is in our organization for a long, long time, and try not to be too shortsighted,” McNair said. “We think Davion has the ability to come in right away, but also be with us for many years, so certainly we looked at it through that best-player lens. Davion was that guy for us this year and we’re super excited.”
The Kings passed on Arkansas guard Moses Moody, UConn guard James Bouknight and Turkish big man Alperen Sengun to select Mitchell, a small guard with a big reputation for defense. Mitchell, a 6-foot-1 ¼, 202-pound point guard with a 6-4 ¼ wingspan, will turn 23 in September. He is one of the oldest and most NBA-ready players in the draft.
Mitchell averaged 14.0 points, 5.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals for coach Scott Drew as a junior at Baylor, leading the Bears to their first NCAA championship. He shot 51.1% from the field and 44.7% from 3-point range, but he converted just 64.1% of his free-throw attempts. ESPN analysts described Mitchell as a relentless driver and tenacious defender, calling him the “best on-ball defender in this draft.”
Mitchell, the Big 12 Conference and NCAA national defensive player of the year, was asked what he can do to help a Kings team that recorded the second-worst defensive rating in NBA history last season.
“Do what I do best,” he said. “Put pressure on the ball, make their life harder, guard the best players, try to throw something at them they’ve never seen before.”
Focus. Intensity. Toughness.
“Definitely just being a dog on the floor,” Mitchell said. “Guarding everyone, making it hard on them, and also playmaking ability and just knocking down shots.”
Mitchell said he has always had a defensive mindset.
“That’s just kind of been my calling card,” he said. “I just love to win and I really just do what it takes to win, and that’s defense. Defense wins championships, so bringing that to the Kings will definitely help their organization just because I can be a dog on the floor.”
Scouting report
NBADraftRoom.com ranked Mitchell as the fourth-best point guard in the draft behind No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham, No. 5 pick Jalen Suggs and No. 6 pick Josh Giddey. The website described Mitchell as “an absolute dog on the defensive end who will have an instant impact on that end of the floor.”
Going deeper into its analysis of Mitchell’s game, the site went on to say: “Davion Mitchell is a tough, hard-nosed point guard who impacts both ends of the floor. He’s one of the leaders of a loaded Baylor team and is the engine that drives the high scoring offense. He’s also an elite defender, probably the best on ball defender in the draft.
“Davion has a lightning quick first step and good blow-by ability. He can dance with the ball and when he decides to go his first step is devastating. He takes it strong to the hoop and can finish over length and absorb contact on the way to the rim.”
However, the site pointed to Mitchell’s poor free-throw shooting, noting “it really needs to improve for him to be a trusted ball handler in the clutch.”
Former Stockton Kings assistant general manager and NBA scout Drake U’u was high on Mitchell going into the draft and applauded Sacramento’s selection after the draft.
“I love this pick for the Kings,” U’u told The Sacramento Bee. “Davion addresses so many needs … toughness, intensity, competitiveness and leadership. He’s a winner at every level and ‘addicted to basketball’ (per Coach Drew). Excellent defender on and off the ball. Someone who will push our young guards. And offensively, I think he has a lot of upside that complements both Fox and Haliburton. Good off the ball as a shooter, super quick and shifty, and has great ability to get downhill. Creates his own shot. He’ll be even better with more space (in the NBA). I love that he’s older. He’ll be ready right away, and he really understands who he is as a player.”
ESPN analyst Bobby Marks said the Kings got the biggest steal in the draft when they selected Haliburton with the No. 12 pick in 2020. Marks also lauded the decision to draft Mitchell.
“Sacramento has nailed the draft now 2 years in a row,” Marks tweeted. “Tyrese Haliburton last year and now Davion Mitchell. High level character.”
More on Mitchell
Kings coach Luke Walton will have trouble finding enough minutes for all of his guards if Fox, Haliburton, Hield, Wright, Davis and Mitchell are all on the team. McNair pointed to the possibility of some three-guard lineups, but he said trades and free agency will provide other avenues to balance the roster.
Mitchell said he is capable of playing on or off the ball. He has patterned his game after players like Chris Paul and Jrue Holiday.
“Yeah, definitely (Paul) because he’s a really good point guard,” Mitchell said. “He’s 6 feet, kind of just like me, smaller guard, fast, quick, but also a really good competitor. But also guys like Jrue Holiday on the defensive end, learning how to impact games. You saw in the playoffs how he impacted games really well. I think he changed that series.”
Mitchell is just the third top-10 pick to come out of Baylor, joining Vinnie Johnson, who was the No. 7 pick in 1979, and Ekpe Udoh, who was the No. 6 pick in 2010. Mitchell earned a nickname at Baylor, where Drew once told Stadium analyst Jeff Goodman: “We call him Off-Night because people tend to have off nights against him.”
McNair hopes to see that for himself.
“Off-Night is an incredible nickname and I hope there are many off nights in our opponents’ futures this year. I love everything he brings, what he stands for, the mentality that he’s going to come in and shut down the other team’s best player.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2021 at 6:32 AM.
