The Utah Jazz have traded up with the Denver Nuggets to acquire the No. 13 pick in the NBA Draft to receive Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell.
A person with direct knowledge of the deal says the Utah Jazz have traded the No. 24 pick in the NBA draft and forward Trey Lyles to the Denver Nuggets for the No. 13 pick, Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the deal had not been officially announced.
Mitchell averaged 15.6 points and shot 35.4 percent from 3-point range as a sophomore. He was named All-ACC first team and was on the conference’s All-Defensive team.
Mitchell’s first pre-draft workout was with the Jazz, where he said he can play either guard position.
“The more important thing … is the defensive end, ” Mitchell said in May. “Being able to guard guys as quick as (Russell) Westbrook but the same size as Klay Thompson. I think I can do both. I can learn the offensive part as I go through the league.”
Mitchell called Jazz forward Gordon Hayward one of the most underrated players in the league and said he’s been impressed by the Jazz offense.
“That’s the big thing, knocking down open shots, ” Mitchell said. “Guys are going to guard Gordon and George Hill. You’ve got to find spots to knock down open shots and I think that I can provide that.”
Lyles was the Jazz’s No. 12 overall pick in 2015. He averaged 13.7 points last season but saw his minutes and shooting percentages drop dramatically from 2015-16.
The Jazz went into this offseason with the primary objective of keeping their own, specifically Hayward and Hill. Hayward is expected to decline his player option and become a free agent and Hill will be an unrestricted free agent.
The No. 1 priority is to retain Hayward, who wants to win sooner rather than later. The franchise needs to prove to the first time All-Star that the team is close to a deep playoff run, which likely includes adding shooting, another playmaking scorer, a stretch four and shoring up the point guard position.
Utah earned the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and returned to the postseason for the first time since 2012 with a 51-31 record. The 50 wins were the most since 2009-10.
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