The Kings expect a lot out of Davion Mitchell during his rookie season. The No. 9 overall pick is a tenacious defender and has won at every level, including cutting down the nets in March as the leader of the national champion Baylor Bears.
De'Aaron Fox has been impressed by his new teammate so far, and believes Mitchell has the two things needed for a rookie to have early success in the NBA.
"He's like a little pitbull," Fox told NBC Sports California's Kyle Draper of Mitchell last month at Kings Media Day. "He has the two things I think that you really need when you come into the league, and it's being able to guard the ball and being able to score the ball. Being able to shoot. He has those two things. Everything else you can work on, like making reads and things like that. That's kind of how I have helped him, being able to make reads on the NBA level. Obviously, the length is a lot different on the NBA level, but he has the two most important things that you need when you come into this league, and he does those things at a high level.
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"He has made a great impression on everybody since he has been here, and it is definitely going to be fun to play with him."
The Kings were the worst defensive team in the NBA last season, so they hope that injecting Mitchell's energy and tenacity can help turn things around on that end of the floor.
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Sacramento is expected to feature a three-guard lineup of Fox, Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton at times and likely will employ a small ball lineup that pairs the three guards with Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes in the frontcourt.
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After hitting a home run by drafting Haliburton last year, the Kings hope to land another diamond in Mitchell, giving them a young trio of guards to build a winner around in Sacramento.
It's early, but Fox believes Mitchell has all the tools to open some eyes right away.