Getty Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz, of whom the latter was linked to the New York Knicks.
Just one season ago, everything was looking up for the New York Knicks. They finished the season as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, Julius Randle was an All-NBA player, and RJ Barrett had taken that next step everyone wanted him to.
Unfortunately, they came crashing back down to earth this past year. New York failed to make the Play-In Tournament and their heavily-praised offseason signings didn’t work out the way most believed they would. In turn, they could look to switch things up this summer.
Well, a recently proposed trade would see them do just that. Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune detailed one trade that the Utah Jazz could make with every team around the league. For the Knicks, he proposed this wild blockbuster:
Knicks receive: Donovan Mitchell
Jazz receive: RJ Barrett, Nerlens Noel, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, 11th Pick in 2022 NBA Draft, 2023 1st-Round Pick (via DAL), 2024 1st-Round Pick Swap, 2025 1st-Round Pick
The trade would completely tear down New York’s current roster, but according to Walden, the Knicks could be interested out of pure desperation.
Knicks ‘Desperation’ Could Lead to Massive Trade
Walden noted that the Knicks could be eager to bring Mitchell home. The Jazz guard is from Elmsford, New York, and past rumors have stated that he could be interested in playing for his hometown team.
“New York’s desperation to land the hometown kid sees them send back a recent lottery pick, plus a bunch of future firsts, too (Utah could get both NY’s ’22 and ’23 firsts by doing the deal during or post-draft),” Walden wrote.
This past season, Mitchell averaged 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 44.8% shooting from the field and 35.5% shooting from behind the three-point line. Whether or not New York would be willing to trade Barrett in a deal for Mitchell is uncertain, but this package could definitely entice the Jazz.
However, despite the proposed trade, recent reports have indicated that New York’s chances of landing Mitchell are slim-to-none.
Knicks ‘Highly Unlikely’ to Land Mitchell
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, sources around the league have noted that New York doesn’t have great odds of trading for Mitchell this summer.
“League sources regularly mention New York’s main offseason focus is to improve at the point guard position, but acquiring Utah’s other All-Star, Donovan Mitchell, remains highly unlikely,” Fischer reported.
The reason behind this belief is due to the fact that New York’s best potential offer doesn’t hold a candle to the packages other teams around the NBA could offer Utah. In particular, the Miami Heat’s offer of Tyler Herro and picks would likely trump anything the Knicks could send out.
“There’s healthy skepticism around the NBA that New York’s best offer for Mitchell would trump other teams’ pursuits, such as a potential package from Miami that would theoretically center around Tyler Herro plus other salary and multiple first-round picks,” wrote Fischer.
Mitchell playing for his hometown team would be a great story, and a package surrounding Barrett could be intriguing, but him landing in New York this summer looks like nothing more than a fantasy at the moment.
