Heartbreak news: The Utah Jazz’s greatest and worst players have all announced their retirements.
Monday night’s game between the Utah Jazz and the Cleveland Cavaliers will mark Donovan Mitchell’s first game wearing a new uniform. The only player out for the Cavaliers going into the game is backup forward Lamar Stevens due to a knee injury.
Kelly Olynyk is listed as questionable with a sprained ankle for the Jazz, while Collin Sexton is still out with a hamstring injury. Cleveland is a formidable opponent at home, so Utah will have its work cut out for it. The Cavaliers are 6-9 away from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse but have a 14-2 record there.
Mitchell, who played for the Jazz for five years, is primarily known for the work he did for the team following Gordon Hayward’s abrupt departure from Salt Lake City. Mitchell was named to the All-Star team three times and guided Utah to five consecutive postseason trips.
Mitchell believes that not enough was accomplished in Salt Lake City, despite his success, to merit having his jersey retired. In an interview with Andscape’s Marc Spears, an NBA insider, Mitchell shared his opinions.
Mitchell said, “I don’t think I did enough,” to Andscape. “I have high expectations for myself. Now, some might argue that it ought to. If that were to occur, I would undoubtedly feel honored, blessed, and eternally grateful. However, I don’t believe I’ve accomplished enough in the last five years to be wearing the same jersey as Darrell Griffith, Karl, John [Stockton], Pistol Pete, and Karl. I still have a long way to go in my career before I can truly be the best.
Monday night will be spent putting Mitchell’s place among the Jazz’s all-time greats aside as the current Utah team looks to prove to the NBA that it can function without him.
