Is Donovan Mitchell getting a Signature Shoe?

That sound you hear is thousands of Americans, not just Utahns but fans around the country, running to their local Foot Locker to get a new pair of shoes. Act fast because they’ll be gone soon (once they come out that is). Yesterday, Donovan Mitchell hinted at a possible announcement coming soon.

Spida continues to became nationally recognized and loved. From New York to Las Vegas he has been swarmed with fans this entire summer. His play on the court and his charisma off it continue to pay dividends for both him and the Jazz.

If he does indeed get a signature shoe, he joins a short list of elite NBA Superstars. Guys like LeBron James, Kevin Durrant, James Harden, Stephen Curry, and Damian Lillard. I’m still in shock at this even being possible. A player from the Utah Jazz being so big time that he gets his own shoe.

The last time this happened was never. He and this team will be taking Utah to popularity heights they’ve never reached before. Hopefully they can cement a Jazz legacy similar to Stockton and Malone did on the court as well.

I will absolutely be waiting in line with many of you to be buying myself a pair of those! *Sets up a tent outside of Foot Locker*

Joe Ingles’ wife Renae recently had an article published about her and Joe’s life, as well as returning to her playing career as a professional netball player. The article can be found on the Player’s Voice here. There was some fun insight into Joe Ingles and his family life, so I’d recommending giving the whole thing a read. Here’s some of the quotes from it:

Joe is from Adelaide and I grew up in Melbourne, which is where we met. I’d come off a premiership with the Vixens, in 2009, he’d come off a premiership with the South Dragons, and we had a lot of mutual friends.

We have jokes about how we got together, and each tells a very different story. My version is that, for a couple of weeks, Joe begged me to go on a date with him and I kept saying, ‘No, no, no, not interested’. He kept begging and begging and eventually I gave in. (I do have to say, though, that once I actually sat down with him for that first date we hit it off straight away and really enjoyed each other’s company. I’ll give him that much.)

His version is that I had to beg him. Which we all know is not the case.

Joe also says I have better abs than him. That is 100 per cent the case...

It’s actually nice this year that we’ve done a complete role swap, and Joe’s at home as a full-time dad. And as a house-husband, I have to say Joe is exceptional.

He’s not only a full-time Daddy Daycare, but he’s an incredibly supportive husband, as well. So he ticks all of the boxes; not only making sure the kids are happy and healthy, but keeping the house in order. I have pretty high standards, so it’s a tough thing to do!

Per usual, we’ve got a few Fan Posts for everyone to digest this week.

Yi of Little Faith talks about Trading for Kevin Love

I love the extension the Jazz gave Favors. It works for both player and the franchise and gives the Jazz flexibility in the summer of 2019. Favors becomes 27 later this month and is entering his prime and if he can add the corner 3 point shot to his game he alters Utah’s offence hugely.

But now Lebron has gone to LA there is the question of what the Cavs should do with Kevin Love.

MoChuk looks at ways for the Jazz to find a third star:

Dennis Lindsey has constructed our roster such that we will be able to fit a max player into our core without gutting our roster next offseason. The problem is, these types of players are not handed over on a silver platter just because we made room for them. There will be serious competition for them. Luckily for us, it seems that the Utah front office has done everything it can to put ourselves in the best position to get our third star. Let’s take a look at where that will leave us, should we decide to go for it next season.

JazzFan45 shared some thoughts about the Utah Jazz Free Agency Moves

And Theo Kamis added some fun to James’ article by bringing up a strategy that James Harden may have missed.

FiveThirtyEight recently updated their CARMELO NBA Player Projections. It’s an interesting model to predict the value and contributions of NBA players for the next several years. Unsurprisingly, the Utah Jazz have some great players on this roster.

Here’s the projection for Donovan Mitchell

They project his 5-year market value at 281.3 million. He’ll make 3.1 million next year.

Rudy Gobert’s projection is also a pretty good one!

Pst. There’s another borderline all star on the Jazz roster. Here’s how the model predicted the next 5 years of Ricky Rubio would be like.

I would recommend going to that link and checking out the full details of each player on the Jazz. It’s interesting to see their 5-year market value as well as the type of player they expect them to be. The player comparisons can be interesting as well!

For our last spot here I wanted to do another open-ended question like I have been recently. Today is a two-fold question.

First I want to know what everyone’s all-time favorite starting 5 is in Utah Jazz history. If you could have your favorite player from any era, what would your team look like? Here’s mine (probably. I reserve the right to change my opinion at any time):

• PG John Stockton
• SG Donovan Mitchell
• SF Andrei Kirilenko
• PF Karl Malone
• C Rudy Gobert

And for the 2nd part, I’m curious to know who everyone’s favorite players are that have never suited up for the Jazz. What would your starting lineup of your favorite non-Jazz players look like? Here’s mine (I think. I’m probably forgetting someone...):

• PG Damian Lillard
• SG Gilbert Arenas (before... you know...)
• SF Vince Carter
• PF Dirk Nowitzki
• C Dwight Howard (Magic days only)