In the aftermath of the Rudy Gobert trade, Donovan Mitchell’s future in Utah became clouded in uncertainty. While the young stud has not yet asked for a trade out of town, there is a sense that the Jazz could elect to rebuild completely and flip their best remaining players into assets that could help them in the future.
Naturally, Mitchell’s availability has lured a number of teams into trade talks (namely the New York Knicks and Miami Heat), but no deal is reported to be close at this time.
The reason why could have something to do with the price of Mitchell, which is apparently at least four first-round picks.
According to a recent proposal, courtesy of Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Knicks offered Obi Toppin, Evan Fournier, cash, two unprotected first-round picks and three protected for a total of five.
The Jazz declined. A source told The Post Ainge is after four unprotected first-round picks — not just two. That’s no small gap.
Ainge doesn’t have many strong preferences on the players coming back, though shooting guard Quentin Grimes certainly is high on his list.
It’s obviously an extremely high price for the young and unproven Donovan Mitchell, but the Knicks might be desperate enough to offer a similar package with hopes of breaking up their Obi Toppin/Julius Randle duo.
That the Knicks reportedly are willing to give up 2020 lottery pick Toppin is a sign of their belief Julius Randle can return closer to 2020-21 form when he was second-team All-NBA. They are hopeful Randle will be in a better space mentally than he was in 2021-22.
Knicks brass is worried about finding the right roster equilibrium with Randle/Toppin as power forwards who don’t play another position. Toppin is a lot easier to trade, as he’s on his rookie contract. A Randle-Toppin small ball frontcourt is considered unappealing to the organization.
The Knicks obviously have a big decision to make in all of this. Will they give up what is necessary to acquire Mitchell, or is the price just too high to meet?
Whatever the case, Danny Ainge isn’t one to roll over in negotiations. He has made it clear that he wants a haul in exchange for Mitchell, and he is unlikely to trade the guy until he gets the package he wants.
