Kings Gave Up Way Too Early on Heat Breakout Davion Mitchell

The Sacramento Kings have been infamous for trading away star point guards, and they might be the victim of another breakout. Of course, everyone knows how the Kings traded Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers and De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs, who have both already made NBA Finals appearances on their new teams, but giving up on Davion Mitchell might be another big regret.

The Kings traded Mitchell to the Toronto Raptors in the 2024 offseason alongside Sasha Vezenkov and the 45th-overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (Jamal Shead) in return for Jalen McDaniels. Keep in mind, just a few months later, the Kings then shipped McDaniels and a second-round pick to the Spurs for cap relief.

Of course, that trade is even worse now that Shead is also a productive point guard for Toronto, but let's focus on Mitchell for now.

Mitchell's viral offseason is giving Sacramento regrets

This offseason, Mitchell has been one of the most talked-about guards in the NBA. With many people across the league expecting a breakout season, as he now plays on a championship-contending Miami Heat squad led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mitchell has certainly been showing both the Kings and Raptors what they are missing out on.

Davion Mitchell was LOCKING UP Cade Cunningham 🔐

(Via IG davionmitchell)🔥 pic.twitter.com/OJRD1DJLYQ
— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) August 8, 2026

In 70 starts for the Heat last season, Mitchell averaged 9.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.0 steal per game, while shooting 49% from the field and 39.5% from beyond the arc. Sure, Mitchell might not become an All-Star like Fox and Haliburton, but he is a very productive starter in this league, especially as an elite defender.

In his latest podcast episode (The Backyard Podcast), D'Angelo Russell claimed that Mitchell is due for a breakout season in Miami this year.

"Davion Mitchell — for everybody that’s keeping up with him this summer, the work that he’s putting in, I think he’s going to take a huge step under that organization. I think he killed it and brought that energy last year," Russell said.

D'Angelo Russell says Davion Mitchell is going to take another step next season:

“Davion Mitchell — for everybody that’s keeping up with him this summer, the work that he’s putting in I think he’s going to take a huge step under that organization. I think he killed it and… https://t.co/pVcISNZICB pic.twitter.com/WEFXUyFP8R
— The HEAT Realm (@WadexFlash) August 9, 2026

Mitchell has already had several workout videos go viral this offseason, with clips of stars like Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, and AJ Dybantsa hyping up the Heat guard circulating as well. It is clear that Mitchell is putting the league on notice this summer, and it would not shock anyone if he were a true difference-maker in Miami this season.

Did things work out for the Kings?

If things had played out differently for Mitchell and the Kings, he likely would've been the franchise's starting point guard last season, offering hope for the team after they traded away Fox. However, they parted with Mitchell before the blockbuster Fox trade, never truly giving him a chance to step into a larger role in Sacramento.

While there is certainly some regret in the Kings' organization, even though letting go of Mitchell was a decision made by their former front office group before Scott Perry stepped in, there is still optimism about the future of the franchise. Sure, things would look much different if they had better luck with Haliburton, Fox, and Mitchell, but now they look ahead to a new era of their point guard position.

Drafting Darius Acuff Jr. with the seventh pick in this summer's draft has given the Kings' franchise some hope for the first time since letting go of head coach Mike Brown and trading away Fox. Perry has a vision for this franchise, and while he cannot fix the mistakes of the Kings' past decision-makers, we can hope this new Acuff-led era can help Sacramento to better days.

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