3 reasons why New York Knicks could be the favorites to trade for Donovan Mitchell
With the Utah Jazz willing to listen to offers for Donovan Mitchell, the New York Knicks could emerge as the favorites to land the superstar guard.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Jazz are no longer shutting down trade inquiries for Mitchell. Instead, they are willing to listen to offers and engage in talks with teams.
Based on the latest quotes from the Jazz front office, Utah intends to keep hold of Mitchell, but they will not hesitate to trade him for the right price.
"Change is inevitable in the NBA," Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said, via ESPN. "I'm not trying to be cryptic or anything else, but Donovan is on our roster and he's a very, very important part of what we're trying to do.
Things evolve in the NBA, so I couldn't sit here and say anybody is [untouchable]. We're trying to build a championship team, but there's no intent [to trade Mitchell], at all."
Jazz general manager Justin Zanik told reporters in a recent interview, “Change is inevitable in the NBA…Things evolve in the NBA, so I couldn’t sit here and say anybody is [untouchable]…There’s no intent there [to trade Mitchell] at all.”
In addition, the Jazz have no intention whatsoever to trade Donovan Mitchell for nothing. When they sent Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, they received five players and four first-round picks in return.
Given that Donovan Mitchell is younger and rated higher than the Frenchman by many, they are likely to ask for more in order to trade him.
The New York Knicks have the best package for Donovan Mitchell
That brings us to the New York Knicks, who can quickly construct a package and pursue a Donovan Mitchell trade.
As The Athletic's Tony Jones reports, the Knicks have a plethora of players and first-round picks they can send to Utah in exchange for the All-Star guard.
Expect the New York Knicks to quickly try and put together a package for Donovan Mitchell, according to league sources. Utah’s bar for Trading Mitchell is sky high. But the Knicks are the team that has the assets to make this a conversation
When it comes to players' availability on the roster, expect R.J. Barrett to be the first to be included in the deal to match Donovan Mitchell's contract for the upcoming season ($30.3m).
According to Bleacher Report, other players that could be included in the deal are Evan Fournier ($18m), Derrick Rose ($14.5m), Cam Reddish ($5.9m) and Obi Toppin ($5.3m).
Probably all of them, or at least the majority of them, will be included in the deal, as the Jazz will ask for several players in return. As for first-round picks, the Knicks could send up to eight to Utah and land Mitchell.
At the moment, the franchise owns four first-round picks and they own another four, acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards, respectively.
Knicks can trade up to eight first-round picks -- four of their own, and four owed by other teams. They should be able to meet Utah's price for Donovan Mitchell with their combination of first-round picks and young players. twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba…
As a result, the Knicks have both the players and draft picks to convince the Jazz to trade Mitchell. It is without a doubt that Utah will go into full rebuild mode if they trade the 25-year-old star guard as well.
Knicks offer Donovan Mitchell the perfect chance to return to his hometown
With the Jazz not in playoff contention next season, Donovan Mitchell could seek a move elsewhere. So a return to his hometown would make perfect sense for the All-Star guard.
What makes the Knicks the favorites in a Mitchell trade is that they offer him a great opportunity to return to his hometown.
The son of a Mets executive (Donovan Mitchell Sr. works for the team as their senior director of player relations and community outreach), Mitchell is an NYC native who feels at home when playing at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks have long been rumored to have an interest in Mitchell, as evidenced by their presence in his playoff games in 2022.
At the same time, Knicks fans view Donovan Mitchell as the leader that will make New York a championship contender while playing in front of his hometown crowd.
Donovan Mitchell will have the chance to reunite with familiar faces if he joins the New York Knicks
Apart from being a New York native, Donovan Mitchell is also linked to the Knicks' staff and front office members. He is friends with newly-acquired guard Jalen Brunson from their time at Illanova, while his former agent, Leon Rose, is now the Knicks' president.
Mitchell is also friends with Knicks assistant coach Johnnie Bryant from their days together at the Jazz. At the same time, his agency is CAA which Rose once ran.
Hence Mitchell will have a few familiar faces if he decides to sign with the New York Knicks and become a franchise player.
Overall, the Knicks aim to return to playoff contention after a disappointing season that saw them miss the NBA playoffs.
The franchise signed Brunson in a very lucrative contract in free agency and now seeks to pair him with another superstar, with Mitchell being their top target.
Donovan Mitchell averaged 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists last season and has four years and $134,8m left on his current contract.
