San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Mitchell excels, but he’s still a flopper

- SCOTT OSTLER How to reach us Contact Christina Kahrl, Sports Editor, at Christina.Kahrl@sfchronicl­e.com Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicl­e.com Twitter: @scottostle­r

Please, please, Warriors, do not use your No. 7 overall draft pick to select Baylor guard

Davion Mitchell.

Do not lower your standards by drafting a serial flopper.

Reportedly, some in the Warriors’ front office favor drafting Mitchell at No. 7. The 6foot2 Baylor guard is considered by many to be NBA ready, especially on defense. He was the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, seemingly a great fit for the tenaciousD Warriors.

But, lord, the man can flop. I watched a YouTube clip of Mitchell’s greatest flops and I will say this: He would instantly give the Warriors flop cred. They tend to be deficient in the art of flopping. Stephen Curry has dabbled in it, sadly, but only out of sheer necessity.

Mitchell’s signature flop is taking a socalled charge by launching himself backward onto the floor at the slightest contact, sliding across the hardwood as if his pants were greased.

Mitchell should be on the U.S. Olympic luge team. He wouldn’t need a sled. His favorite snack has to be sliders.

The flop is an NBA disease, rewarding cheaters and punishing guys who are trying to play real basketball. Refs are either instructed by the league to not call flops, or they have come to see the flop as a legitimate basketball art that must be encouraged.

James Naismith has to be flopping in his grave.

Please, Warriors, maintain your honor and dignity — pass on Mitchell. If you need your court buffed, hire more of those mop kids.

Deep thoughts, cheap shots & bon mots ... In sports media, we’re not supposed to root, but I’m rooting for Richard Sherman and his family — and I know I’m not alone. Not only is Sherman on any Interview AllStar team, he communicat­es on a human level, oneonone, that is rare in sports. He never forgets that he’s the son of a Compton garbagetru­ck driver. Here’s hoping this becomes a great comeback story. Welcome to Japan. Please take a selfie and go back home. The Tokyo Olympics has the potential to go down as the worst in history. The horror stories are stacking up. Japan is united in opposition to hosting the Games during a pandemic, but the people got outvoted by a few rich guys. The great spectacle is broken before it starts. A sportswrit­er friend, veteran of many Olympics, tells me that the mediaprep process so far is “a total nightmare.” True confession: I really, really wanted to hate the MLB AllStar Game uniforms. The worst move ever in baseball was when the marketing lords decided to stop having the AllStars wear their own team’s unis. But if you gotta have matching AllStar unis, those weren’t bad. But could Nike have made the swoosh bigger? The Nike swoosh is to sports apparel what the “TRUMP” sign is to hotels. Although, let’s not forget the gigantic Ralph Lauren polo player on every U.S. Olympic team blazer, an embarrassm­ent for decades. Especially considerin­g that the U.S. has never medaled in polo (except the water kind). Here’s hoping TV listens to my sportswrit­er friend Sarah Todd (@NBASarah), who tweeted, “Stop interviewi­ng owners when the team wins.” Here’s a charming book: “The Yankee Way,” the autobiogra­phy (St. Johann Press) of Bay Area baseball treasure

Charlie Silvera, who died in 2019, but not before telling his story to another Bay Area legend, Dave Newhouse. Silvera, a San Francisco native and Yogi Berra’s seldomused understudy for a decade, takes us inside the greatest baseball dynasty ever. The spreadflip­pers, baseball managers who destroy the postgame clubhouse buffet in a fit of rage, have pretty much disappeare­d. I like to think

Tony La Russa is still capable, but he may have mellowed. Bob Melvin and Gabe Kapler won’t be flipping any spreads. Maybe the two calmest managers in the game. Kapler got tossed four times when he managed the Phillies in 2019, but has no ejections as a Giant. Melvin, surprising­ly, has been run three times this season, one behind MLB leader Jayce Tingler. Melvin might have a flip in him. If I were President Biden, I would send a health expert to the WNBA with instructio­ns to find out how that league became a leader in COVID vaccinatio­ns. While men’s leagues struggle to reach minimum levels of vax, the WNBA steps up and takes it like a woman. It’s almost as if WNBA players value team over personal politics and misinforma­tion. Hard to believe that Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have 20 Grand Slam victories each. Where do those three rank in terms of alltime threeway rivalries? Right up there with Willie, Mickey and the Duke. Kevin Durant, please cancel your Twitter feed, and stop reading and listening to every critique of your quirky personalit­y. You’re swatting at mosquitoes. Worse, you’re feeding them.

 ?? Darron Cummings / Associated Press ?? Guard Davion Mitchell and Baylor were dominant in the Final Four, beating Houston and Gonzaga by a combined 35 points.
Darron Cummings / Associated Press Guard Davion Mitchell and Baylor were dominant in the Final Four, beating Houston and Gonzaga by a combined 35 points.
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