Jazz's Mitchell wants to become 'more willing passer'

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell is looking to improve on his playmaking when the 2019-20 NBA season resumes later this month.

"Becoming a better passer ... more willing passer. I think getting into the lane, obviously, I get there and take certain shots, but I think, being able to find my teammates," Mitchell told reporters Thursday, including ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "Especially with Bojan (Bogdanovic) being out, we're gonna need guys to kind of pick it up and pick up the slack that he had.

"Getting (my teammates) easier looks, which then also comes back and makes it easier on myself, but being able to do that I think will not just help me for where we are now, but help me for years upon my career."

Mitchell has matched a personal-best 4.2 assists per contest through 62 games this season, trailing only Joe Ingles and Mike Conley for the team lead.

The 23-year-old's assist percentage (21%) is also slightly higher than the year prior, and he ranks in the 63rd percentile among combo guards, according to Cleaning the Glass.

Mitchell earned an All-Star appearance in his third NBA campaign but he doesn't want to become complacent.

"The biggest thing for me is not allowing the name I've created on the floor and off the floor to kind of affect the work that I've been doing. Continuing to work on my game, get better as a teammate, better as a leader, better as a player in so many different ways," Mitchell said.

"I think that's really where it starts because it's easy to kind of get what I've been able to get at an early age and early in your career and kind of just chill. I try to do the exact opposite and kind of just focus on myself and the game and let everything else kind of flow the way it has been."