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LAS VEGAS — When your new teammate is one of the best players in the NBA, you can’t settle for meeting him halfway.
So when it comes to Davion Mitchell’s planned offseason workouts with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece it will be.
“Immediately after I found out, I got his number and I texted him,” said the Heat point guard, whose offseason workouts also have included time on the makeshift practice court the Heat have set up for the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. “And now in the middle of the summer, I’m going to Greece on the 19th just to work out with him. Just to build that chemistry.”
When it comes to commitment to the game, Mitchell has made clear he’s ready anywhere and everywhere, with an everpresent basketball in his hands, be it on flights or strolling the streets of Miami.
Now with Antetokounmpo as a teammate after the Heat’s trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, Mitchell is dribbling off to Greece in a week.
“I’m going to Spain,” Mitchell said of a plan already in place with the players’ union “They have this thing for the NBAPA called the Sanctuary, and I’ll work out there. And Greece ain’t that far. So I’m like, all right, I might as well just go.
“I was originally supposed to be in the Sanctuary for two weeks, but now I’m only going to be for one weekend, and one week with Giannis over there.”
While there isn’t much of a previous connection, Mitchell appreciates the need for a point guard to seize any opportunity to establish chemistry.
“Previously, we were with the same agency, and I changed agencies. But we kind of knew each other from there,” said Mitchell, who will be entering his third season with the Heat and the final year on the two-year, $24 million free-agent contract he signed last summer. “But we didn’t really know each other. We just knew of each other because we had the same agent. But, obviously, I know him a little bit from Bam (Adebayo), because they got the same agent.
“I actually asked him, ‘Yo, what are you doing in the summer? I’m honestly trying to work with you and build some chemistry.’ He was like, ‘Do you ever go to Europe?’ And I was like, actually, ‘I’m coming to Europe.’ He said, ‘All right, well, what are you doing from these days?’ I told him and he said, ‘All right, then, you can pull up to Greece if you want.’ I said, I’m there. Immediately, I said, I’m there. So, I’ll pull up there, and we’re going to work out. It’s going to be fun.”
First up will be Antetokounmpo’s formal Heat introduction Thursday at Kaseya Center.
And then it will be back to his home turf to meet up with Mitchell.
Already, Mitchell said his workouts have been Giannis-centric.
“You kind of knew he might be there, so you kind of got to change your workouts a little bit in a way,” Mitchell said. “You got to try to master this role. And I know I’m going to get a lot of catch-and-shoots, so I’ve really been working on catch-and-shoots — but not just regular catch and shoots. Just a lot of off-rhythm.”
To Mitchell, it all is about turning the page, even as if means 2025-26 teammates Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis moving on to the Bucks in the deal for Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, and Norman Powell moving on to the Chicago Bulls in free agency.
“I’ve dealt with it, being in the league for six years,” Mitchell said. “Losing one of my closest friends on the team when I was in Sacramento, Tyrese (Haliburton). Losing him in the middle of my rookie year, not realizing what the business was. I already knew it was hard. But now that I’ve been in the league long enough, I’ve been traded a couple of times and I had relationships with other people. So I kind of understand it.
“At the end of the day, I think they’re going to get another opportunity and maybe more of an opportunity to show what they can do.”
But, Mitchell said, the change doesn’t change there, also with a desire to re-sculpt his stocky 6-foot build.
“There’s a lot of things I’m working on,” he said. “Obviously, getting in shape so I can become better defensively. I think I’ve lost a lot of pounds. Honestly, I don’t know how many. I just don’t ask, but I know I lost a lot, for sure.
“That was definitely the goal. That was really the main goal, getting in shape, losing a lot of weight. And I’m doing a really good job of that. And the good thing is, it’s still not even close to the season. So I’ve got so much work to do.”
Including the work with Antetokounmpo in Greece.
“You kind of had a feeling that he was going to move somewhere,” Mitchell said of the trade. “And we were one of the teams he wanted to move to. So, I kind of knew it. It was obviously exciting when you have a Hall of Fame player on your team.”
Continue reading...
So when it comes to Davion Mitchell’s planned offseason workouts with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece it will be.
“Immediately after I found out, I got his number and I texted him,” said the Heat point guard, whose offseason workouts also have included time on the makeshift practice court the Heat have set up for the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. “And now in the middle of the summer, I’m going to Greece on the 19th just to work out with him. Just to build that chemistry.”
When it comes to commitment to the game, Mitchell has made clear he’s ready anywhere and everywhere, with an everpresent basketball in his hands, be it on flights or strolling the streets of Miami.
Now with Antetokounmpo as a teammate after the Heat’s trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, Mitchell is dribbling off to Greece in a week.
“I’m going to Spain,” Mitchell said of a plan already in place with the players’ union “They have this thing for the NBAPA called the Sanctuary, and I’ll work out there. And Greece ain’t that far. So I’m like, all right, I might as well just go.
“I was originally supposed to be in the Sanctuary for two weeks, but now I’m only going to be for one weekend, and one week with Giannis over there.”
While there isn’t much of a previous connection, Mitchell appreciates the need for a point guard to seize any opportunity to establish chemistry.
“Previously, we were with the same agency, and I changed agencies. But we kind of knew each other from there,” said Mitchell, who will be entering his third season with the Heat and the final year on the two-year, $24 million free-agent contract he signed last summer. “But we didn’t really know each other. We just knew of each other because we had the same agent. But, obviously, I know him a little bit from Bam (Adebayo), because they got the same agent.
“I actually asked him, ‘Yo, what are you doing in the summer? I’m honestly trying to work with you and build some chemistry.’ He was like, ‘Do you ever go to Europe?’ And I was like, actually, ‘I’m coming to Europe.’ He said, ‘All right, well, what are you doing from these days?’ I told him and he said, ‘All right, then, you can pull up to Greece if you want.’ I said, I’m there. Immediately, I said, I’m there. So, I’ll pull up there, and we’re going to work out. It’s going to be fun.”
First up will be Antetokounmpo’s formal Heat introduction Thursday at Kaseya Center.
And then it will be back to his home turf to meet up with Mitchell.
Already, Mitchell said his workouts have been Giannis-centric.
“You kind of knew he might be there, so you kind of got to change your workouts a little bit in a way,” Mitchell said. “You got to try to master this role. And I know I’m going to get a lot of catch-and-shoots, so I’ve really been working on catch-and-shoots — but not just regular catch and shoots. Just a lot of off-rhythm.”
To Mitchell, it all is about turning the page, even as if means 2025-26 teammates Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis moving on to the Bucks in the deal for Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, and Norman Powell moving on to the Chicago Bulls in free agency.
“I’ve dealt with it, being in the league for six years,” Mitchell said. “Losing one of my closest friends on the team when I was in Sacramento, Tyrese (Haliburton). Losing him in the middle of my rookie year, not realizing what the business was. I already knew it was hard. But now that I’ve been in the league long enough, I’ve been traded a couple of times and I had relationships with other people. So I kind of understand it.
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“At the end of the day, I think they’re going to get another opportunity and maybe more of an opportunity to show what they can do.”
But, Mitchell said, the change doesn’t change there, also with a desire to re-sculpt his stocky 6-foot build.
“There’s a lot of things I’m working on,” he said. “Obviously, getting in shape so I can become better defensively. I think I’ve lost a lot of pounds. Honestly, I don’t know how many. I just don’t ask, but I know I lost a lot, for sure.
“That was definitely the goal. That was really the main goal, getting in shape, losing a lot of weight. And I’m doing a really good job of that. And the good thing is, it’s still not even close to the season. So I’ve got so much work to do.”
Including the work with Antetokounmpo in Greece.
“You kind of had a feeling that he was going to move somewhere,” Mitchell said of the trade. “And we were one of the teams he wanted to move to. So, I kind of knew it. It was obviously exciting when you have a Hall of Fame player on your team.”
Continue reading...
