You see the highlights. You see the explosive first step, the high-arching threes, and the way he carries the Cleveland Cavaliers or, before that, the Utah Jazz. But if you look at the 2017 NBA Draft record, things get weird. There’s a photo out there—somewhere in the depths of Getty Images—of a young Donovan Mitchell wearing a Denver Nuggets hat.
Wait, what?
Yeah. Honestly, it’s one of those "glitch in the matrix" moments for NBA fans who didn't follow the draft minute-by-minute back then. If you’re asking who drafted Donovan Mitchell, the technical, legal, and "official" answer is the Denver Nuggets. They took him with the 13th overall pick. But he never spent a single second in a Nuggets uniform.
He was gone before the Commissioner even finished announcing the next pick.
The Trade That Gifted Utah a Superstar
Draft night is basically a giant game of poker played with human careers. In 2017, the Utah Jazz were desperate. They knew Gordon Hayward was likely walking in free agency (which he did, joining the Celtics), and they needed a spark. They had their eyes on a 6-foot-3 guard out of Louisville with a massive 6-foot-10 wingspan.
That was Mitchell.
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Utah’s GM at the time, Dennis Lindsey, wasn't about to leave it to chance. He knew Mitchell wouldn't slide to their spot at 24. So, he called up Denver. The deal went down like this: Denver would select whoever Utah wanted at No. 13, and in exchange, Utah would send over their 24th pick and a young forward named Trey Lyles.
Denver said yes. They took Mitchell for the Jazz, and then later that night, they used that 24th pick on Tyler Lydon.
Why on earth did Denver do it?
Look, hindsight is a jerk. Today, it looks like one of the worst trades in modern history. But back in 2017, the Nuggets' logic wasn't totally insane.
- Logjam at Guard: They already had Jamal Murray and Gary Harris. At the time, Harris was looking like a legitimate building block, and Murray was the "future."
- The Search for a Stretch Four: Denver was obsessed with finding a versatile forward to play alongside Nikola Jokic. Trey Lyles was a former lottery pick (12th overall in 2015) who looked like he just needed a change of scenery.
- Targeting OG Anunoby: Rumor has it the Nuggets actually wanted OG Anunoby. They thought they could trade down to 24 and still snag him. Small problem: the Toronto Raptors took him at 23. One pick away. Total heartbreak.
So, Denver ended up with Trey Lyles and Tyler Lydon. Lyles had some okay moments but eventually moved on. Lydon played just 96 total minutes for the Nuggets before being waived. Meanwhile, Mitchell turned into an All-NBA supernova.
The "What If" That Haunts Denver
Can you imagine a core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Donovan Mitchell? It sounds like a video game.
The Nuggets eventually won their ring in 2023, so their fans aren't exactly crying into their beer anymore. But for a few years there, this trade was the ultimate "what if." If Denver just keeps the kid from Louisville, do they win three titles instead of one? Or do Murray and Mitchell clash because there's only one ball?
Basketball is funny that way. Mitchell needed the green light he got in Utah to become "Spida." In Denver, he might have been a third option, tucked away in the corner while Jokic did his thing.
Mitchell’s Impact on the Jazz
When Mitchell arrived in Salt Lake City, he didn't just play; he erupted. He broke the record for three-pointers by a rookie. He won the Dunk Contest. He led the Jazz to the second round of the playoffs as a rookie, famously outplaying Russell Westbrook and Paul George in a series against the Thunder.
Utah basically turned Trey Lyles—a bench piece—into a franchise cornerstone. That’s a win in any universe.
Breaking Down the Draft Numbers
To really understand the value lost and gained, you have to look at the production. Mitchell was a late bloomer in draft circles. He wasn't a "one-and-done" hype train. He stayed two years at Louisville under Rick Pitino, and while his stats were good (15.6 points per game his sophomore year), nobody predicted he’d be a 71-point scorer in the pros.
| Player | Draft Slot | Career Peak (So Far) |
|---|---|---|
| Donovan Mitchell | 13th | 5x All-Star, 71 Points in a game |
| Trey Lyles | 12th (2015) | Solid journeyman role player |
| Tyler Lydon | 24th | Out of the NBA by 2019 |
Basically, Utah traded a nickel and a penny for a gold bar.
What This Means for You (The Fan)
The biggest takeaway here is that the "Drafted By" stat on Wikipedia is often a lie. When you’re buying a jersey or arguing with friends at a bar, remember that the team that selected the player is rarely the team that scouted the player in these trade-up scenarios.
If you want to track how your team is doing, don't just look at who they pick. Look at who they move. The Nuggets are a masterclass in scouting (they found Jokic in the second round, after all), but they are also a cautionary tale about over-thinking the "fit" and trading away a superstar for "assets."
If you're a collector, those Donovan Mitchell "Nuggets" cards are actually worth a decent bit of change because they represent a timeline that never actually happened.
Moving forward, keep an eye on those mid-lottery trades. History says the 13th pick is a weirdly lucky spot—it's where Kobe Bryant was drafted, and it’s where Mitchell found his way to Utah. Sometimes, the best move a team can make is simply staying put and taking the best athlete on the board.
For those tracking Mitchell's current trajectory, he’s now the veteran leader in Cleveland, but the DNA of his career will always be tied to that weird night in 2017 when he was a Denver Nugget for about fifteen minutes.
Next Steps for NBA Fans: Check the transaction logs for your favorite player. You’d be surprised how many "franchise legends" were actually drafted by their biggest rivals. Then, go back and watch Mitchell's 2017 Summer League highlights—you can see the "Spida" persona forming in real-time before he ever played a meaningful NBA minute.