For the last few seasons, the Utah Jazz have tried their best to make a meaningful run in the postseason, with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert leading the team. But every season, the story was the same.
They would have a great regular season and then collapse in the playoffs. Keeping that in mind, the Jazz finally decided to break up the duo. They did so by trading away Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster trade.
In exchange for Gobert, the Jazz gained a lot of draft picks that could help them in the future if they decided to go into a rebuilding phase.
But that would mean the franchise would have to trade Donovan Mitchell as well. After all, he is a young superstar with a lot of potential. He wouldn’t want to waste years of his career playing for a rebuilding team.
Earlier, the notion was that the Jazz wouldn’t trade Mitchell. But as per a recent report, it has been revealed that the Jazz has officially engaged in trade talks about Donovan with the New York Knicks.
Since Mitchell is a New York native, he wouldn’t be unhappy if he is traded to the Knicks. But the first offer that the Jazz has asked from the Knicks doesn’t seem realistic at all. As per Tony Jones of The Athletic, the Jazz asked for six draft picks along with Quentin Grimes, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, and Miles McBride for Mitchell.
(Starts at 4:11)
Via ESPN700:
There was a feeling that things were a little bit close as latest Tuesday night. But the Knicks according to my sources, kind of backed away. I have some Knicks sources who are telling me that Danny Ainge is asking for everything but the Statue of Liberty. I had a really good source tell me that the Jazz has asked for at least six of New York’s eight tradeable first-round picks and all of New York’s high-impact young guys. So that would be Quentin Grimes, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, and Miles McBride.
No doubt that Donovan Mitchell is one of the best young players in the league, and he has his whole NBA career ahead of him.
But asking for six first-round picks on top of four young players is simply too much. It feels like the Jazz isn’t really interested in trading for Mitchell. If that’s the case, fans might simply see Mitchell spend another season with the Utah Jazz.
