Getty Is Donovan Mitchell finding a new home?
The New York Knicks are still considered to be the frontrunners for the services of Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, but trade talks have slowed down significantly.
Across the NBA, teams are waiting for a major domino to fall, and whether it’s Kevin Durant or Mitchell remains to be seen. There are many teams who could also use the production Mitchell provides, and his trade market might be more robust than Durant’s is due to a possible lower asking price.
The Brooklyn Nets are looking for a big haul in exchange for their star, and that might be a big part of what’s holding back a trade there. For the Jazz, there appear to be many team’s that have a package ready to go, and it comes down to Utah accepting them.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported six teams were interested in acquiring Mitchell, and the Miami Heat were among those names.
Out of every team with interest, the Heat seem to be the most ready to win a championship with Mitchell, so the Knicks would like to avoid that scenario if possible, and The Athletic’s Fred Katz believes that can be done.
In an August 8 article, Katz laid out how the Knicks would be able to beat any offer the Heat come up with, including an “all in” offer.
Knicks Are All Clear
At this point, it would be a shock to those around the league if the Knicks weren’t the team with Mitchell in the end, if the Jazz decide to trade him of course.
The biggest trade chip for the Heat would be Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro, and to be fair, that’s a big one. Here’s the full proposal for Miami that Katz would consider to be their “all in” offer for Mitchell.
- Duncan Robinson
- Tyler Herro
- Nikola Jovic
- 2023 first-round pick (unprotected)
- 2027 first-round swap (unprotected)
- 2028 first-round pick (unprotected)
- 2029 first-round swap (unprotected)
For the Knicks to beat that, they would be able to include even more picks and more young players. Nobody in the Knicks offer is at the level of Herro, but they would seemingly have no problem making up that ground elsewhere.
“Three unprotected first-rounders (including the ones from 2027 and ‘29, which are the most valuable) along with a couple of first-rounders from other teams and a prospect could clinch this for the Knicks,” Katz writes. “If not, they could include one more of the first-rounders from other teams or one more player and still have room to spare.”
Will the Trade Happen?
“As of right now, sources tell me that talks between the Jazz and the Knicks around a Donovan Mitchell trade have stalled out.”
NBA Insider @ShamsCharania has the latest on Donovan Mitchell trade discussions.
At this point, the Jazz must have a good idea of what the various packages for Mitchell look like around the league, so what are they waiting for?
As for right now, it’s tough to say what the hangup is. On July 29, Charania reported the two sides have “stalled out” in their talks.
“As of right now, sources tell me that talks between the Jazz and the Knicks around a Donovan Mitchell trade have stalled out,” Charania said. “I’m told there hasn’t been contact between the two sides in roughly the last two weeks.”
There could be a variety of reasons for that happening, so fans will just have to wait and see how things play out in the coming weeks and months.
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