NBA Exec Sounds off on Potential ‘Crazy’ Knicks Trade Pursuit of Donovan Mitchell

Getty Knicks one-time trade target Donovan Mitchell

Much has changed and it seems like ages ago, but there was a time when it looked like a nearly sure thing that the Knicks would be welcoming back to New York favorite son Donovan Mitchell. In fact, much of the summer of 2022 felt like a waiting game until Jazz president Danny Ainge finally relented and accepted what the Knicks had on the table for Mitchell.

He did not, of course, and Ainge wound up making a deal with the Cavaliers instead. But now, with uncertainty around the future of Mitchell in Cleveland, there is the question of whether the Knicks—even as they are on the brink of their first trip to the conference finals in 24 years—will again get themselves involved with a potential Mitchell trade.

But, again, much has changed. The Knicks have been retooled as Jalen Brunson’s team. They’ve acquired top two-way wing OG Anunoby. They’ve found roles in which guards Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart can excel.

“They moved on from that, moved on from (Mitchell), and I don’t think they’re going back there, not with the roster they have and the payroll structure—they’re good with where they are,” one NBA exec told Heavy Sports. “They have needs. They’re going to hunt for another piece. But it’s not going to be some crazy deal for Donovan Mitchell.”

Knicks More Likely to Pursue a Forward

More likely, if the Knicks are to pursue someone by trade this offseason, it will be an upgrade in the frontcourt, potentially with a parting of the ways from Julius Randle. The Knicks would benefit from having a power forward who is a bit more versatile, who does not need the ball to run through him as much as Randle does and who is a better defensive player.

That’s not to say Mitchell would not be useful. He is only 27 and coming off a season in which he averaged 26.6 points on 46.2% shooting, with 5.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists. He is eligible to sign a four-year contract worth around $200 million with Cleveland, but if he does not sign, the Cavs could look to move him.

Thing is, he has not given the team an indication he wants out. The Cavs still think they can keep him.

“They’ve never talked about trading him as far as most of us know,” the league executive said. “They’ve always just kind of gone about their business. There is nothing that has come out of his camp to anyone about not being happy in Cleveland or he is gonna bust the door down to get out.

“Everyone assumes he wants to get back to New York (where Mitchell is from), and maybe he does, but he has never said that. I think Cleveland is jut kind of optimistic, weirdly optimistic when it comes to him.”

Donovan Mitchell a Possibility for the Nets?

If there is a way for Mitchell to get back to his roots in New York, it is more likely to be with the Nets than the Knicks.

Brooklyn is said to be eager to go star-shopping this offseason as it seeks to beef up an offense that was among the bottom tier of the NBA last year. The Nets had an offensive rating of 112.4, per NBA.com stats, which ranked 23^rd in the NBA.

Mitchell would get a clean slate of an offense in Brooklyn, something that is just no long there with the Knicks. A trade with the Nets makes a lot more sense, but that’s only if Mitchell decides he wants out of Cleveland at all.