When the Cavaliers traveled to Salt Lake City on Jan. 10, most of the NBA-watching world focused on the moment’s clearest narrative: Donovan Mitchell’s first game back in Utah since being traded for a king’s ransom. But after a nip-and-tuck affair that saw the plucky Jazz come away with the win despite Mitchell hanging 46 on his old mates, ESPN commentator Kendrick Perkins focused not on that return, but on an arrival — or, rather, one he felt hadn’t happened yet.
"Where the hell is Evan Mobley? ... We've been waiting on him to take that leap, like in the conversation with elite bigs.