Donovan Mitchell all but confirms his replacement is already on the Jazz

The Utah Jazz notched their most impressive victory in some time by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. In a game that featured Donovan Mitchell, who's still playing at an All-NBA level, he got outplayed by Keyonte George, which prompted him to basically confirm that George is his replacement in Utah.

After the game, Mitchell gushed about George, even going as far as saying that he should be on the All-Star team this season.

“They came in there and just outplayed us. It started with Keyonte George, who deserves to be an All-Star,” he told reporters. “A young fella that I know personally, and I’m excited to see his progress just from last year to this year."

The box score doesn't lie, as George's 32 points on eight-for-16 shooting to go with 12 free throws and nine assists outshined Mitchell's 21 points on seven-for-18 shooting to go with four free throws and three assists. The difference in their performances clearly played a factor in the final score.

George and Mitchell aren't the exact same player archetype, but it's hard not to see the similarities between them, particularly between how they fared in their respective third seasons in the NBA. George is a better playmaker than Mitchell was, but it's hard not to argue with the results.

The big difference between George now and Mitchell then is that the Jazz were trying to win when the latter played, while the former is playing for a team that appears to be tanking, but only somewhat. Still, when the Jazz start trying and win more games, George is bound to get compared more to the former Jazz star.

And why not? He finishes well at the rim, he's drawing fouls, and he's even gotten better as a floor spacer. He's an offensive generator whose results are hard to argue against. He didn't burst onto the scene like Mitchell did his rookie year, but the Jazz's future looks very secure because of George's leap.

The irony of George being Mitchell's replacement

George may very well fill the void left by Mitchell entirely as he continues to reach his ceiling as a player. It might be pushing it to suggest that he ciuld surpass Mitchell not too long from now, but never say never.

Anyway, the irony of George turning into Mitchell 2.0 is that this would not have happened in the first place had it not been for the Rudy Gobert trade, as George came from one of the picks Minnesota sent to Utah in that trade. Everyone knows the rocky history between Mitchell and Gobert, so to see them replace Mitchell because of the Gobert trade feels like poetic irony in a way.

George has grown exponentially over the course of this season to the point that he's outplaying the player he's supposed to replace. Getting Mitchell's replacement won't automatically vault the Jazz back up to contender status, but it's quite the start.