Getty Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers blocks the shot of Immanuel Quickley #5 of the New York Knicks.
Donovan Mitchell‘s former Utah Jazz teammate Joe Ingles believes the All-Star guard will end up playing for the New York Knicks.
“This is like non-bias, no outside info, I think he’ll play for New York one day, whether that’s sooner or later,” Ingles said on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. “I think it would be great for New York and I think it would be great for him. Whether or not that actually happens we’ll wait and see.”
Mitchell is coming off a 30-point performance at Madison Square Garden as the Cavaliers split their home-and-away, back-to-back schedule with a 95-89 win against the Knicks last November 1.
The Knicks flirted with the idea of adding Mitchell last year. But they did not go out of their way to get him. The Jazz instead shipped the Westchester native to the Cavaliers for Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, and two pick swaps in 2026 and 2028.
The Knicks appeared to have made the right decision after dispatching Mitchell and the Cavaliers in five games in the playoffs last season.
Mitchell did not sign an extension with the Cavaliers this past summer. Although he pointed out that he still can do it next offseason, the rumors linking him to his hometown Knicks just won’t go away.
Why Knicks Did Not Go All-in on Donovan Mitchell
Former Knicks general manager Scott Perry shed light on why they did not go all-in on a Mitchell trade last year.
“You got to ask yourself if you’re going to [make that kind of trade], the other team that you’re trading with wants to take two-thirds or three-quarters of all your good young talent and all of your draft capital,” Perry said in the Hoop Genius podcast, ” is what is left behind going to be good enough for you to win or be better than what you are or if you just hold on to what you have and be a little patient?
“So that’s the thought process in that, and obviously, we made a push to trade for him, but it was gonna be done within reason,” Perry added.
Donovan Mitchell Is Not a ‘Singular Force’
The Knicks refused to sell the farm for Mitchell because they thought he was not worth it.
“We felt that [Mitchell] was a good player, but he needed more around him to win because if he was that singular force, Utah probably would have been in the conference finals,” Perry explained. “If he was that singular force, but he wasn’t that singular for his game. And that’s not a criticism. That’s just an evaluation that you must make. And those are the tough evaluations.”
Mitchell became a four-time All-Star last season. But he has yet to prove himself in the postseason.
He lost in the first round to Jalen Brunson, the Knicks key offseason acquisition last year, in back-to-back seasons.
Mitchell is off to another great start, averaging 31.5 points on 51.1% shooting. The Cavaliers, however, have a 2-2 mark as they have been hit with injuries to key starters Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland.