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The New York Knicks are still engaged in trade talks to acquire Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, and while things are moving along slowly, the expectation is that a deal will get done eventually.
If the Jazz are looking for a haul of young players and draft picks, something Stephen A. Smith reports is the case, then the Knicks do have that ready at their disposal.
That leaves fans with the question of what the hold up can be. The Knicks want to get Mitchell and they have everything they need to do it, so what’s taking so long?
Fans aren’t the only ones who have to worry about that, but the Knicks might have to worry about owner James Dolan stepping in and forcing a deal.
An NBA executive speaking to Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney warns Dolan could swoop in and speed things up, similar to how he did when the team acquired Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets.
Something to be Concerned About?
The Knicks might be making good progress right now, but if anybody grows inpatient, a trade could be made before talks conclude and it could cause New York to offer more pieces than they might want to.
“If I am Leon (Rose) the one thing I’d worry about is the owner coming down and saying, ‘Get this done, or I will do it.’” said the exec. “That is what happened when they traded for Carmelo Anthony with Denver 12 years ago. Donnie (Walsh) was working to get the price lower, and was making progress, then Dolan got involved. He has not been as involved lately but that has to be what you worry about.”
The executive believes the Jazz put the report out there about starting up trade talks again as a way to potentially goad better offers from teams around the league.
“Well, what you’ve seen from Utah in the last week looks like some smoke-screening, they have gotten into a rut where it looks like the Knicks are the only team that can give them what they want for Mitchell and the Knicks know it,” the exec said.
As it stands right now, the Knicks might be bidding against themselves, and that’s why the talks are going slow. New York seems to think they have the best offer on the table, and it just comes down to the team accepting the offer.
Jazz Want A Lot
After seeing what the Jazz got for Rudy Gobert, they’re hoping for something on the same level as that for Donovan Mitchell.
“The Jazz are asking for all of New York’s young guys plus another six or so picks, and that’s too much,” continued the exec. “So you’ve had things leaking from Utah, that they like what Charlotte has or what Washington can give them. And it’s impossible, those teams do not have the picks the Knicks have. It’s been this dance for a few weeks now, it’s almost silly. But it’s a smokescreen from Utah. There’s no hurry on it so both sides can wait out the other.”
Although the executive believe there’s no hurry, he does warn that Dolan might not sport the same patience as the front office does.
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