3 Young players the Kings must develop, 2 to give up on
By Logan Struck
Develop: Davion Mitchell
Davion Mitchell has found himself to be a valuable piece for the Sacramento Kings. The 24-year-old point guard is coming off his sophomore season, continuing to prove to be one of the best defensive guards in the league.
Earning the nickname “Off-Night,” Mitchell is possibly the most underlooked defender in the NBA. Standing at just 6’0″, Mitchell never backs down from a matchup. Kings coach Mike Brown has praised the lockdown guard (via SidelineSources):
"“[Davion Mitchell] is a special talent, especially on the ball defensively… He’s got some dog in him.”"
While Mitchell has earned the respect of Mike Brown and the Kings, he saw a decrease in playing time in his sophomore season following an impressive rookie year. His minutes per game went from 27.7 to 18.1, mainly due to De’Aaron Fox being healthy and Mitchell getting moved to the bench.
Although his playing time decreased, his efficiency skyrocketed with 45/32/80 shooting splits. Davion Mitchell has spent this off-season working on his jump shot, as he talked about on the “#thisleague UNCUT” podcast:
"“This whole summer, that’s been my main focus, working on my jump shot so they have no reason for me not to be on the floor.”"
Davion Mitchell has shown the Sacramento Kings how valuable he can be on the defensive end, and if he continues to develop on offense, he will be one of the top backup point guards in the league.