There are not many players that come close to Donovan Mitchell in terms of the interest he is garnering this offseason, he is the only big star left that teams can still acquire. For the most part, the conversation has been around the New York Knicks, but they are far from the only interested team. Mitchell is 25 and a 3-time All-Star, that’s a rare and coveted combination. Naturally, the Heat, the Hornets, the Cavaliers, and the Wizards have all been named as interested parties.
The asking price for Mitchell is steep, at least if reports are to be believed. Interested teams are seemingly thinking about involving the Los Angeles Lakers as a third party in a transaction as Danny Ainge covets their future first-round picks. And recent reports from NBA insider Quinton Mayo suggest that the Wizards believe they can challenge the Knicks in their efforts to acquire Mitchell.
“There’s a package out there that they have given Danny Ainge that has them feeling like they’re still in the race and not far behind New York.”
The Wizards haven’t made too many big splashes in the market recently, but they did acquire Kristaps Porzingis from the Dallas Mavericks in a trade earlier in the year. Bradley Beal remains with the team and could be key in their plans to acquire Mitchell for the back-court, that would certainly be a lot of scoring potential on the team. Adding Porzingis to that only makes the potential firepower a mouthwatering prospect for fans of the Wizards.
The Knicks are the favorites for a reason, though, the combination of young players and picks they can offer the Jazz is unmatched. They have as many as 8 first-round picks to trade and some promising young pieces as well, meaning that they remain firm favorites to make a deal happen for Mitchell. It’s hard to tell what the Wizards could offer that would top that.
Brian Windhorst recently revealed that the Jazz wishes to trade Mitchell by training camp, which would mean that a move should happen in the coming 20 or so days, training camp will begin late in September. Whether he lands with the Wizards or the Knicks, after he removed Utah from his Twitter bio, it does seem like only a matter of time before he’s on the move and playing for a different team.
