Monson: Stop freaking out about Donovan Mitchell someday leaving the Jazz

Everybody stop.

Stop worrying about Donovan Mitchell and something concerning him that very well might never happen.

Chuck your insecurities, your paranoia, your Hayward-itis out the window.

Live for today, not for 2024.

It was Hunter S. Thompson who said: “There is no such thing as paranoia. Your worst fears can come true at any moment.”

But he also said: “Paranoia is just another word for ignorance.”

Don’t be ignorant.

Fact: Mitchell, the Jazz’s new young star, is dancing and dribbling and dunking under spotlights in the NBA.

Fiction: Mitchell is just automatically going to bolt for a bigger market when he shakes loose from his initial Jazz contracts.

Funny how not all that long ago, a couple of seasons back, people were wondering how far the Jazz could ascend by developing a bunch of young players without an authentic star to carry them to real contention.

And then after winning 51 games and advancing to the second round of the playoffs last season, led by emerged All-Star Gordon Hayward, already sensitive Jazz fans had those sensitivities scuffed up by the brooding unrestricted free agent’s departure.

Hayward didn’t want the Jazz. He didn’t want Utah. Despite the development aids and the opportunities the Jazz gave him, he never connected and left for Boston, where his college coach beckoned.

Next thing, Rudy Gobert, the Jazz’s other emerged star, signed a $100-plus million contract, which was enough to temporarily smooth the jangled nerves of fans.

And then inside of the first 39 games of this season, the rook Mitchell didn’t just emerge, he launched above the waterline, seemingly hovering somewhere over the marine layer, making his plays, hammering his dunks, fearlessly taking his shots, stirring new hopes for the Jazz and the seasons ahead.

LeBron talked about him. Paul George talked about him. Chris Paul talked about him. Russell Westbrook talked about him. Kevin Durant talked about him. The game’s greats seemed to be welcoming the 21-year-old into their fold, having seen for themselves what is plain for everyone to see: The kid is a force.

Never before have the Jazz had a rookie that garnered this kind of attention. Darrell Griffith got some. John Stockton was stuck behind the Fastest of Them All. Karl Malone was terrific but still unpolished.

Mitchell has become a marvel, a must-see.

It’s almost too much for some Jazz fans to handle.

They’ve already started to worry about whether Mitchell will stick around when he transitions from great to elite, when supposedly more glamorous franchises will pucker their lips and bat their eyes at him.

If you’re one of the worriers: don’t be.

First, that kind of insecurity is a bad look. It’s desperate. And as in love relationships in which one partner has desperation spilling out, washing over and drowning the other, that is likely to do more damage than good.

Yeah, Jazz fans flat adore Mitchell. At a scheduled promotional appearance at a store the other day, thousands of people lined up to meet the player. Thousands and thousands. Some ultimately were turned away.

But come on. Show a little confidence. Quit fretting. It’ll be OK.

Second, under conditions of the CBA, one way or the other, Mitchell will be with the Jazz — unless they trade him — for a minimum of seven seasons. Given the rapid rate of his acclimation to the pro game, that’s a long time. A whole lot of good can happen between now and then.

Mitchell, about as conscientious and charismatic a character as any in the league, was excited to come to Utah in the first place when the Jazz moved up in the draft to get him. He genuinely wanted to play here. He was grateful to play here, happy to be tutored by Quin Snyder, to properly learn his craft and extend his game.

That’s happened and is continuing to happen.

The Jazz are helping him along and giving him a clear path to being a bona fide star less than halfway through his initial season. He’s taking advantage of that much faster than Hayward did.

But as he grows into that full stardom and more ably carries his team with him, and the Jazz get Gobert healthy and add other supports to their two pillars, more winning will come. And as that winning comes, so too will Mitchell’s strengthening loyalty.

That’s a guess, actually, but what evidence is there to suggest that Mitchell will be more like Durant and Hayward, leaving their original team for another, and less like Tony Parker and Tim Duncan and Westbrook, all playing or having played in smaller markets?

There is none, at least none specific to Mitchell.

The only thing to do then is sit back and enjoy. Buy the jerseys, line up at the mall for an autograph, cheer from the stands, scream in front of the TV, all as Mitchell becomes however great he will be and the Jazz transition into whatever they will be.

But do not fret.

Don’t let concerns about the future — all those years out — spoil the fun now and next year, and the year after that and the year after that and the year after that and the year after that and the year after that.

The current Jazz management/coaching structure was in place when Mitchell was scouted and drafted, and, barring anything unknown, unforeseen, unexpected, that structure could be in place when Mitchell has decisions to make — unlike the more transitory situation from beginning to end for Hayward. Also, one of the strengths of the current Jazz coaching staff is player development. That’s big and might be binding.

So relax Jazz fans and be cool. Mitchell’s stardom can rise just as quickly and expansively in Utah — it already has — as it can elsewhere, maybe more. Mitchell is Mitchell, he’s not Hayward. And everyone around here can take solace in and be thankful for that.

Gordon Monson hosts “The Big Show” with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone.