Getty New York Knicks forward RJ Barrett looks on during a game against the Washington Wizards.
The New York Knicks are looking to land a true star talent in Donovan Mitchell, and they look to be the closest team in the NBA to doing it.
As soon as Mitchell hit the market, the Knicks jumped into talks. Acquiring Mitchell won’t be easy to do, but New York does have a good package that can be put together.
With a young core to work with, there are even ways for the Knicks to land Mitchell without having to give up RJ Barrett, which would be excellent news for fans. Barrett is the team’s best young player, and SNY’s Ian Begley lays out a package that would keep him in New York while still getting Mitchell.
How to Get Mitchell
If the Knicks want to get Mitchell, they’ll need to wave goodbye to some of their rotational pieces, but there’s a way to still hang onto some of the young talents.
The Jazz have reportedly shown interest in breakout Summer League star Quentin Grimes, and so he could be the main draw of a deal if needed. In order to match salaries with the Jazz, the Knicks would have to also throw in a big contract, and that’s where sharpshooter Evan Fournier could come into play.
Here’s a look at some of the packages Begley lays out involving Fournier:
- Fournier, Cam Reddish and Quentin Grimes
- Fournier, Cam Reddish and Immanuel Quickley
- Fournier, Cam Reddish and Miles McBride
On top of the players, the Knicks can send a plethora of picks to Utah.
“New York can send eight first-round picks to Utah in a trade,” wrote Begley. “They can send four of their own picks and four future first-round picks they’ve received from other teams. They can send Utah four unprotected picks (their own). The highest 2023 protected pick they could send Utah is a pick from Dallas that’s protected 1-10. They have two other protected 2023 first-round picks and one protected 2025 first-round pick.”
With Barrett on the verge of getting a massive payday, the Jazz might not be willing to bring on a high-priced player like that while going into a rebuild, so that might be something that works in the Knicks’ favor.
Competition Ahead
Joining the Knicks in the pursuit of Mitchell will be a familiar rival. The Pat Riley-lead Miami Heat are in the running for the star guard, and they are also looking at acquiring Kevin Durant.
The Knicks likely have a better package to offer, but if Mitchell wants to find a way to Miami, the Heat can also put something nice together. Begley says if the Heat manage to get their hands on more draft picks, they could become a real threat at stealing Mitchell out from under New York’s nose.
“As we noted last week, keep an eye on Miami acquiring any other first-round picks in separate trades,” Begley said. “That would give the Heat more to offer in any trades for Mitchell or Kevin Durant.”
It will certainly be interesting to see how things play out, and it could end up taking several more weeks until we see more movement.
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