About halfway through the NBA offseason, three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is still a member of the Utah Jazz, despite persistent trade rumors.
While Mitchell was playing at the Miami Pro League, a group of fans in attendance broke out in a pro-Miami Heat chant while he was shooting free throws.
The Heat have been one of a couple of teams most linked to Mitchell this summer, and he could be the man who puts them over the top.
Despite being one of the NBA’s elite teams over the past three years when healthy, Miami has lacked offensive punch, at least compared to the league’s other title contenders.
That issue has become especially apparent deep in the playoffs, in particular versus the Boston Celtics in this spring’s Eastern Conference Finals. There, the Heat failed to score 100 points in three of the final four games of the series, which included games in which they mustered just 80 and 82 points.
Mitchell would give them someone who will always be in attack mode from the opening tip, as well as someone who excels in transition, a phase of the game they are rather weak in. Even better, Mitchell has the tendency to explode for big games during the playoffs.
The Heat have also been rumored to be in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. However, the Brooklyn Nets are asking for a king’s ransom in return for him, and it may not require as much capital in order to land Mitchell in South Florida