How The Jazz Can Keep Donovan Mitchell Long-Term

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The hosts at KSL’s Unrivaled discussed how the Utah Jazz could keep Donovan Mitchell from pursuing his path to a bigger market.

Apparently The Gateway mall caught wind and decided to start piling up the reasons to stay by giving him his own bridge.

Okay so the hosts are mostly joking as the timing of their segment just happened to align with the bridge dedication.

Still, it’s only Donovan Mitchell’s second season and his influence is being felt in the community. KSL’s Unrivaled says, for now, it’s just a nice gesture. He still has to earn “the statue”.

So the hosts former NFL quarterback Scott Mitchell and Alex Kirry decided to have some fun and came up with their own “Levels of Success and Naming” criteria. This does not just go for Donovan, but all future Jazzmen.

Bronze Level Membership

This is when you get a pedestrian bridge at the Gateway named after you. The hosts believe Mitchell has already attained this status, but from here on up, he still has some work to do.

“I don’t like that we are naming things after him already,” Kirry said.

“You have to,” Scott said. “You got to start early with these guys, you can’t wait until their free agents.”

The hosts believe this isn’t too big of a deal, but they came to an agreement that the second year guard has reached the Bronze Level Membership.

Silver Level Membership

This is when you get a frontage road off highways like the 201 or West Mountain Corridor.

“And he’s gotta be an All-Star,” Scott said about Donovan earning the Silver Membership. “Or (a) Western Conference Finals (appearance).”

“So if you get to the Western Conference Finals and if you’re an All-Star selection,” Kirry said. “We’ll rename the frontage road off 201 or the Mountain View Corridor.”

Gold Level Membership

The hosts say this is when you get a statue and possibly a road such as South Temple named after you.

“This is the Stockton and Malone level,” Scott said. “Top 50 players in the NBA, perennial All-Star, Finals appearance.”

“And maybe just a little sliver of Slow-Mo Joe giving him a bit of a pass,” Kirry said about a possible Mitchell statue.

Platinum Level Membership

The hosts say this is when you get your own airport terminal or State Street renamed from the State Capitol to Draper. Both of them came to the conclusion he would have to win NBA Finals and win an MVP.

“I feel like the Governor would veto that,” Kirry said.

“If he’s any kind of Jazz fan, he isn’t going to veto that,” Mitchell said.

Diamond Level Membership

This is the level a player can attain to entirely rename a city in Utah. Scott always says the Utah Jazz are just a Kevin Durant away from a title. So what if he could recruit someone like Durant?

“Cottonwood Heights is now Donovan Heights,” Kirry said.

While their discussion was just having fun, Scott said that we shouldn’t just dismiss it entirely.

“You’re going to laugh at me,” Scott said. “But I’m telling you, people are highly motivated by this kind of stuff.”

Listen to KSL’s Unrivaled  for free, wherever you get your podcasts, or on the KSL Sports App.