I’ve really soured on the phrase “all the right tools” when discussing defense. Most of the time, the tools people are talking about are various athletic metrics. That’s rubbish. If you’re biting on the wrong moves and can’t see the floor through the team’s defensive scheme, then you lose all those athletic advantages pretty much instantly.
Don is biting on the wrong stuff.
Don isn’t seeing the floor through the schema.
Stuff your “tools” in a sack.
Yeah I think defense is a product of 3 things:
1) the "tools", as in is there enough athletic ability and size, strength, etc. To become a good defender. Some people just don't have the abilities, like bogey. He has short arms, he's not quick laterally, he doesn't move his feet well. These are largely physical attributes, which can be improved upon but you cannot overcome these limitations entirely.
2) skills/bball IQ. Have you worked to develop the skills necessary, have you practiced staying in front of your man. Have you learned how to stay down at pump fakes, do you know how and when to swipe, do you understand the flow of the game, etc.
3) effort/desire. These are tandem because one informs the other. If you have the desire you will put forth the effort. If you are putting forth the effort it shows you have the desire.
Frankly being high-level in any One of these will help you be an average defender, but by far the most important is #3. The first 2 don't matter one whit if you don't have any desire. Look at jabari. He absolutely has 1 and 2 in spades, but #3 is basically negative so he is a terribly defender.
If I could rank these all on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being barely NBA level, 5 being DPOY potential I'd rank Mitchell as follows:
#1 = 4 (for his size. He could be a 5 except due to height but he makes up for it in wingspan and athleticism largely)
#2 = 3 (here I really think his bball IQ isn't where we want it to be, while he has shown he has the skills he so often makes a bad read or gets lost, even on offense, that it brings his bball IQ into question)
#3 = 1 (just don't see the consistent effort. I think he pays lip service to defense, and I do think he wants to want to be a good defender, but I think in his heart it just isn't any kind of priority. Could argue this as a 2, but the eye test says no higher than that)
So on this scale he is about a 2.5 or barely adequate defender, imo, even though he absolutely has the tools and the skill, the defense IQ and effort are just so lacking it brings everything else down.