I’ve been as critical of Darius as anybody recently. With that being said, there are a lot of issues at work here.
- at the time he was given his contract, it certainly seemed like a logical decision and his play was commensurate with said contract;
- clearly the manner with which he was being utilized prior to his contract extension was working well for him and the team ;
- while the opportunity to get Donovan Mitchell was incredibly enticing , I’m convinced that for what we gave up for him , a number of other players could have been obtained of somewhat equal value at a different point in time;
- the trade for Donovan MAY have been not only premature, but the pairing with DG may not be the ideal one due to physical limitations (size, in particular) and probably hasn’t helped DG’s game;
-not making the Mitchell trade and retaining Sexton, Lauri and picks and growing the team more internally and organically may have been a better alternative and DG may have been a bigger part going forward;
-a splashy trade perhaps a year or two later may have been the better option;
- there are still questions about Donovan himself. While the team played incredibly well with Donovan at the helm without both DG and Evan, we haven’t seen that version of Donovan in awhile predominantly due to knee issues (I think). Utah never went far under his leadership and pairing with Gobert. I still think he’s a special player but he and his teams seem to come up short in the playoffs
- for better or worse, because the team played so well during that “streak“, it legitimately led to questions as to whether the team could/would be better moving forward without DG who could bring back some player/players/picks. The ball movement was great, rotations were great, pace was great. Whether that would be sustainable or just a mirage, who knows plus additional injuries (to Wade, in particular) have hampered the team. (Part of me still can’t believe that Dean can be THAT important to the team still….and his injuries have become a chronic issue)
- I’m still not convinced that the team as presently composed couldn’t be better or the Mitchell/Garland pairing couldn’t work under a different coach
- injuries have been an issue for him this year, but his size and style of play are contributing factors and certainly have been with past injuries , too
- his play this season has been more than a small concern IMHO…..i feel his confidence has been destroyed (for whatever reason….injuries, Mitchell pairing, JBB, pressure, etc), his decision making and late game turnovers have been a concern, driving without having much ability to finish at the rim THIS SEASON has been a problem, leaving his feet repeatedly, and despite plenty of JBB urging slowing the pace of the team , over dribbling and getting the team into its offense (whatever that may be) far too late.
- moreover his size and general nonchalance defensively have been repeatedly exploited
-additionally, pressuring him and being physical with him has also exposed his faults and if a defender of size is on him, his style of outside shot is difficult to get off (very little lift)
-if the decision is to keep Donovan and he wants to stay, I feel a different backcourt partner would be better for the team.
- CPJ is a more than adequate backup PG (and maybe more) going forward
- still questions about JA and Evan;s ability to coexist but I’m confident that they can especially under a new regime
-as others have stated, regardless of DG’s “down year”, I feel that there will be enough GMs willing to overpay or adequately pay for him