Raptors deal Davion Mitchell as part of fallout of Brandon Ingram trade
'That side of the business, we can't control, we don't really worry about it, because we can't control it,' Mitchell told Postmedia hours before being dealt.
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The imminent acquisition of Brandon Ingram by the Toronto Raptors all but necessitated the departure of Davion Mitchell.
Hours after Toronto moved to bring in former all-star Ingram from New Orleans, news broke that Mitchell — at times a fill-in starter at point guard for the team, but more recently out of Darko Rajakovic’s rotation — was being moved to the Miami Heat.
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Raptors deal Davion Mitchell as part of fallout of Brandon Ingram trade Back to video
Coming back in the exchange will be contractual filler in the form of soon-to-be-bought-out, now three-time Raptor PJ Tucker, and a second-round pick.
The trade will be finalized later Thursday. Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy reported the pick will be the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2026 second-round pick.
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With Luka Doncic joining LeBron James, the expected value of the pick is quite low. But, then again, one of the main reasons Mitchell became expendable was because Toronto nabbed Jamal Shead with the 45th selection last June.
Shead is on a cheap rookie deal while Mitchell will be entering free agency this summer. That and the fact Rajakovic appears to favour Shead, who has a bit more of an offensive game than Mitchell, one of the premier defensive guards in the NBA, helped grease the wheels for an exit.
Plus, Toronto likely will be paying Ingram somewhere between $35-40 million moving forward.
The Raptors had picked up Mitchell, the pick that became Shead and a future second-rounder from Portland in a shrewd bit of business with the Sacramento Kings prior to the season. Sacramento had been desperate to shed cap in the form of Sasha Vezenkov and Mitchell in order to sign Raptors legend DeMar DeRozan, but couldn’t get Vezenkov to agree to a buyout to return to Europe.
The Raptors got Vezenkov to give back all he was owed, plus ended up with two rotation point guards and more out of the trade.
Mitchell, the ninth pick of the 2021 draft, played in 44 games for the Raptors, starting half of them, and averaged 6.3 points, 4.6 assists and 0.7 steals while shooting 36% on three-pointers.
But it was his defence and professionalism that most helped the team. Mitchell was often tasked with guarding the opponent’s best guard and usually made life difficult for them (there’s a reason his nickname is “off-night.”)
The former Baylor star never really earned the full support of Rajakovic, though, and now heads to Miami, where he should be a good fit.
Mitchell was one of the last Raptors in the locker room following Wednesday’s loss against the Memphis Grizzlies and was watching film when approached by a reporter.
Mitchell was quite stoic about the looming trade deadline. During his three years in Sacramento he had seen the team trade away future all-star Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis and, just days ago, move De’Aaron Fox in another blockbuster.
“Nah, quite honestly, I don’t think nobody really thinks about it really,” Mitchell told Postmedia of the deadline. “I think when you start thinking about it, you have too much things on your mind. I think we try to focus on who the game plan is.
“I mean, as far as that side of the business, we can’t control, we don’t really worry about it because we can’t control it. So even if we want to be here, if we want to get traded, ain’t really up to us. So, I mean, I think we don’t really worry about it.”
Mitchell said the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade was another example of anything being possible in this league.
“It’s the business. I mean, that’s what the NBA is. The NBA, that’s how it is. People want assets. People are thinking about the future for 10 years. People want to win now, just like the way the team is set up,” he said. “You just never know. Some teams want to get younger. Some teams try to win now.
“So, I mean, you kind of understand it but, like I said, you can’t really control it. I mean, it’s kind of crazy, especially the Lakers trade. And that was kind of out of nowhere. But after you think about it, it is a business.”
Something Mitchell found out again on Thursday.
The trades of Mitchell, Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown left veteran Chris Boucher, the longest-serving Raptor, as the last remaining likely trade candidate ahead of the 3 p.m. ET deadline.
BOUCHER STAYS, RAPTORS ADD WISEMAN
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