Getty Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz
The New York Knicks have been heavily pursuing Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell this offseason, but recent activity may have complicated their endeavor.
On August 29, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Knickerbockers and their fourth-year wing, RJ Barrett, had agreed to terms on a four-year, $120 million extension, making him the first Knicks first-rounder since Charlie Ward in 1999 to sign an extension.
Though Mitchell has not commented on the signing, hours after the extension was announced, his Twitter bio was scrubbed of any mention of the Jazz.
The Sporting News screen-captured Mitchell’s profile before and after the Barrett signing and tweeted out the comparison early on the morning of August 30, captioning the post: “Donovan Mitchell took ‘Utah Jazz Guard’ out of his Twitter bio.”
Barrett had been rumored to be a potential outbound asset given that the Jazz had “strong interest” in acquiring him, according to an August 23 report by SNY’s Ian Begley.
With the extension, Barrett might now be off-limits, complicating a deal for Mitchell, Begley tweeted after the extension was announced.
“Barrett’s extension takes him off the table in those talks for obvious reasons, including ‘poison pill’ provision that makes it very difficult to trade player on rookie extension before extension takes effect,” Begley tweeted.
Donovan Mitchell removed the Jazz from his bio 🤯
(h/t @sn_nba )
Mitchell Deal ‘Could Still Happen’
However, there are still routes the Jazz and Knicks could explore to make a trade work, Begley said August 30 during an appearance on SNY’s “Geico SportsNite.”
“Deal could still happen without RJ Barrett,” Begley told host Eamon McAnaney. “It just means the Knicks, I think would have to be willing to go to a place they hadn’t been willing to go when you talk about draft compensation, and first-round picks, and unprotected first-rounders.
“The Knicks hadn’t been willing to go to where the Jazz have been asking them to,” he said. “Now that you take RJ Barrett off the table, the Jazz, I think, are going to be pushing for more there and it’s going to be interesting to see where this thing goes.”
On top of this, one should also expect young players like Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, and team-favorite Quentin Grimes to be heavily linked to any potential trade talks that may come.
Mitchell ‘Without a Doubt’ Wants Knicks
Mitchell, who will turn 26 on September 7, has yet to publicly request a trade. However, if he were to be dealt, he would prefer to go to the Knicks, according to an August 25 story in The Athletic.
In August 21 interview on SNY, Dexter Henry asked Marc Berman of The New York Post whether Mitchell’s public activity in New York this summer should be seen as a “sign that he definitely wants to be a Knick?”
“Without a doubt. I mean, he always spends his offseason in New York, but he’s never making all these appearances. And for him to show up to all those Rangers playoff games when he’s not even a hockey fan, [it] was very surprising. He was just at Rucker Park, they had a night for him with the Cyclones,” Berman said.
“And August 30, they’re having ‘Knicks Night’ at Citi Field, which is a little surprising and perhaps a little mysterious, as they said ‘special Knicks will be on hand.’”