Donovan Mitchell is the best available player left on the open trade market, and it doesn’t look like a lot of progress has been made to move him. The New York Knicks are the most interested in acquiring him and have had offers rejected by the Jazz. With the recent extension signed by RJ Barrett, the Knicks might be sending a message that the 2019 3rd overall pick is off-limits.
Regardless, it does seem like it is in Utah’s best interests to trade Mitchell away and join the tank and hopefully draft another French center in Victor Wembanyama. Mitchell is a winning player and would not align with the agenda in Utah.
Brian Windhorst is reporting that the Jazz are looking to make a trade before training camp begins next month. He also said that the Jazz have set a deadline with the hopes of teams beefing up their offers, especially the Knicks.
“It sounds to me, in talking to people around the league, that the Jazz want to try and go even sooner than that. They want to go before the training camp. Some of this could be arbitrary. You always see this with trades where teams invent a deadline to force a team because they know that teams make their best offers before a deadline. The real deadline isn’t until February but it does sound as I talk to folks in the league that the Jazz are trying to apply the gas here, trying to juice the offer, especially the one from the New York Knicks.”
The Jazz are soon going to be in a tough spot as the Knicks are the only team coming close to the kinds of offer they will be wanting. With the signing of Jalen Brunson, extensions to Barrett and Mitchell Robinson this year, and Julius Randle last season, the Knicks have put their core in place.
Mitchell could be acquired without giving up any of those core team members and would give New York a great starting five. Hopefully, the Jazz will decide to trade Mitchell away in time so that we don’t have another protracted trade saga heading into October.
