Rick Pitino Says He Told Knicks to Take Donovan Mitchell 8th in 2017 NBA Draft
In 2017, the New York Knicks drafted Frank Ntilikina with the eighth overall pick in one of the final moves of the Phil Jackson era. The move hasn't panned out, while the Utah Jazz plucked budding superstar Donovan Mitchell six picks later.
Former Louisville coach Rick Pitino apparently told the Knicks this would happen.
"I tried to get the Knicks to take him, and [they said], 'Nah, they can't take him at that number,'" Pitino said Wednesday on SiriusXM NBA Radio (h/t Stefan Bondy of the New York Post).
Pitino said the Knicks were prioritizing point guards at the No. 8 slot and didn't feel Mitchell could be a primary ball-handler.
"Because they didn't think he could play point guard. They questioned certain things," Pitino said. "Donovan is a worker. He'll get in the gym and he'll perfect it. He doesn't have an ego but he wants to be the best. He doesn't have a chip on his shoulder, he has a boulder on his shoulder because he wasn't heavily recruited out of high school. He was ranked 55th in high school instead of top 10, top 15, and he's always out to prove that he's one of the better players."
Mitchell, of course, has emerged as one of the best young scorers in basketball. He's averaging 24.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists through the first 14 games of this season with the Jazz, putting him perhaps on pace for his first All-Star berth.
Ntilikina has failed to find his NBA footing, struggling in particular on the offensive end. He's started 10 games for the Knicks this season but is averaging just 6.1 points, 3.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game. The Knicks have acquired numerous young guards to play ahead of him, including 2017 No. 9 overall pick Dennis Smith Jr.
