The Utah Jazz trading Patrick Beverley to the Los Angeles Lakers officially signaled the reopening of the trade market after a quiet 6 weeks as teams scrambled to find the right trade package to acquire Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets. Now that KD is returning to the Nets for next season, everyone’s attention is now on the biggest name available in Donovan Mitchell.
The Jazz started the process of a rebuild by trading 3-time DPOY Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a stack of draft picks and players. They have now moved Patrick Beverley (who they acquired in the Gobert trade) but will be patient with moving Mitchell for the highest possible price.
The New York Knicks are the favorites to land Mitchell and have already had a massive package with 5 picks rejected. This is because of interest from other teams like the Miami Heat. Mitchell hasn’t demanded a trade from the team but has told the Jazz that he would like to go to either the Knicks, Nets or the Heat if he is traded.
“Utah and the New York Knicks have had ongoing discussions, but those talks have not yielded progress to the point of a trade being imminent. As those talks have lingered, the Jazz have begun fielding offers from other teams, league sources tell The Athletic. As of Thursday morning, the Jazz have multiple offers on the table for Mitchell from teams other than the Knicks that they deem intriguing and worth pursuing, according to sources. They are offers, sources say, that the Jazz feel are worth pursuing, should talks between Utah and the Knicks stall.” (h.t The Athletic)
The Heat and the Nets simply don’t have the assets to try and outbid the Knicks’ already existing package with multiple picks and players. In addition, the Nets can’t acquire Mitchell unless they trade Ben Simmons away due to the rules on teams acquiring players on rookie extensions via trade.
The Heat have been pushing to make something happen with Tyler Herro as the centerpiece, but it has been slow. It looks like the Knicks will have the package that wins out over others. There’s no rush on Utah’s side to accept it, so they’ll continue testing the waters for the best possible offer for a young All-Star in Spida.
