The Utah Jazz knew they would find it difficult to replace All-Star Gordon Hayward but they may have found the right player to fill those big shoes.Rookie Donovan Mitchell has been a revelation so far this season and looks like a future star for the franchise.The front office's decision to trade for the 21-year-old - who was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 13th pick in the draft - is proving to be a stroke of genius.Utah's six-game winning streak may have been snapped by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night but it will not dampen their excitement at seeing Mitchell break out during that stretch.Even during the 100-94 loss to OKC, the shooting guard was once again the standout performer for the Jazz as he posted a team-high 31 points on 11-of-22 shooting.He has now scored at least 20 points in four consecutive games and is the first Jazz rookie to do so since Darrell Griffith in the 1980-81 season.Unsurprisingly, Mitchell has been earning rave reviews for his recent performances as the rest of the league notices his talents.Even his peers have been impressed with what they've seen. New Orleans Pelicans big man DeMarcus Cousins said Utah has a "star" on its hands and Paul George also added some words of praise for the youngster prior to their encounter.“He’s really good. Honestly [he] could be the steal of the whole draft and for sure should be top two or three in rookie voting," he said.

"I know Donovan. I had the chance to work out with him during the draft. We have the same agent so I worked out a lot with him in the draft and I knew he was going to blossom.”

Since being inserted into the starting line up, the Louisville product has played a huge role in the team's resurgence.

Fans in Salt Lake City have taken to Mitchell quickly and he's helped to ease the pain of losing Hayward.

The New York native has become the Jazz's number one option on offense and is averaging an impressive 17.2 points, 3.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game in his rookie campaign.

He has thrived with the responsibility afforded to him by head coach Quinn Snyder and already looks like a mature and seasoned NBA player.

It's clear to see that Mitchell has real star potential and is likely to give Ben Simmons a real run for his money for the Rookie of the Year award.