Getty Executive Vice President and Senior Basketball Advisor William Wesley and President Leon Rose of the New York Knicks look on during the first half against the Chicago Bulls.
The New York Knicks are the odds-on favorite as Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell‘s next team should the Cleveland Cavaliers trade him, according to BetOhio.com.
The Knicks are +500 favorites with a 16.7% chance of bringing home the Westchester County native to New York. Trailing the Knicks are the Los Angeles Lakers, who have three first-round picks available for star trade. The sportsbooks in Ohio tabbed the Lakers as +800 favorites with an 11.1% chance of acquiring the five-time NBA All-Star.
Knicks’ rivals Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat both have the third-best odds at +1000 with a 9.1% chance.
Mitchell is eligible to sign a four-year, $208 million extension starting on July 6. If he does not extend and enter the final guaranteed season of his current five-year, $163 million contract, the Cavaliers would have no choice but to start entertaining offers for him or risk losing him for nothing after next season.
What Knicks Might Offer for Donovan Mitchell
After the Cavaliers gave up five first-round picks — their 2025, 2027 and 2029 firsts and pick swaps in 2026 and 20228 — plus Lauri Markkanen, who emerged as an All-Star last season, they would try to recoup whatever they can get for Mitchell if their hands are forced to trade him.
The Knicks can go several routes if they pursue Mitchell once again and reunite him with former agent and current team president Leon Rose.
They could trade three-time All-Star forward Julius Randle straight up for Mitchell plus draft capital. They have eight tradable first-round picks and seven second-round picks to use in any star trade.
The Knicks could also build around a package of Mitchell Robinson, Bojan Bogdanovic (if they pick up his $19 million team option) and draft capital to keep Randle and their Villanova trio intact.
Robinson could become a solid and cheaper replacement for Jarrett Allen if the Cavaliers ship their one-time All-Star center in a separate trade. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Cavaliers will likely shop Allen around.
“I would just say that while there’s an extreme interest and excitement probably from certain fanbases to go to the trade machine and work out Donovan Mitchell trades—and maybe those will be needed in a month, we’ll see—I would think the Cavs are going to be spending more time in this next month looking at possible Jarrett Allen trades and what that can bring,” Windhorst said on the “The Hoop Collective” podcast on May 17.
Circumstances Have Changed Since Donovan Mitchell’s Pursuit
According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Knicks “are still targeting the upcoming summer as the time to trade for the next big name.”
But unlike in their Mitchell pursuit in the summer of 2022, the Knicks are no longer a desperate team looking for their first star. They already have one in Jalen Brunson, who outplayed Mitchell in the 2022 and 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Mitchell’s fit with the current Knicks roster that came one or two injuries away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals is questionable especially next to Brunson in an undersized backcourt.
“The Knicks will search for the next great player, but they also will hope not to disrupt the culture that helped most of their roster to career years and encouraged the players to keep swinging, even as if they couldn’t feel their arms,” Katz wrote.
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Knicks Are Betting Favorites to Acquire 5-Time NBA All-Star