Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell to put work in with D-Wade this summer?

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell could team up with future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade as he tackles what will be an important offseason.

The writing may have been on the wall well before the Utah Jazz dropped Game 5 and, in turn, their first-round series to the Houston Rockets. Regardless, the loss still hurts, and perhaps no Jazzman appeared to be as shaken by it as Donovan Mitchell.

When asked after the contest what he might do to improve his game — and, really, the Jazz’s chances in the West — over the summer, a despondent Mitchell muttered, “Better shape, I’ll leave it at that.”

It’s hard to say what exactly that entails, but one thing is certain: Mitchell’s performance in the 2019 NBA Playoffs left a lot to be desired.

Over five games, he shot just 32 percent from the floor and under 26 percent from 3-point range. He also averaged in excess of four turnovers per game and the Jazz were outscored by 7.6 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court.

Clearly, that’s not what you want from your go-to guy, a fact Mitchell is keenly aware of (almost to a fault).

So, he’ll undoubtedly tackle his offseason program with renewed intensity, and the Jazzland masses should get hyped because a certain future Hall of Famer is chomping at the bit to join him on the path.

Shortly after Game 5 came to a close, the recently retired Dwyane Wade, a 13-time All-Star, three-time NBA champion and the 2006 Finals MVP, tweeted that he was expecting to put some work in with Utah’s No. 45 this summer —

In short order, the 22-year-old seemingly confirmed he would look Wade’s way with this tweet —

Less than 24 hours later, he spoke on Wade during his rap session at Jazz locker clean-out. Said Mitchell —

"“If you would’ve told me three years ago that Dwyane Wade was going to be talking about let’s work-out over the summer, after a tough loss, I wouldn’t believe you. It’s still one of those things that’s kind of surreal, but at the end of the day, he’s right — we’ve got work to do. This is going to be huge for me, from a confidence standpoint.”"

Obviously, Mitchell spending any kind of time with Wade is probably a good thing. The Miami Heat legend is often cited as a player comp for Utah’s young star, and if Mitchell aspires to have a similarly awesome career, who better than old No. 3 to show him the ropes?

Make no mistake, the Jazz have some work to do in the front office to bridge the talent gap between themselves and the truly elite squads in the Association. That said, an angry Mitchell, working like a mad man to improve under the watchful eye of basketball royalty would certainly help the cause.