Donovan Mitchell trade rumors: Knicks, Heat, Nets among potential destinations for Jazz All-Star guard

Danny Ainge is a person of extremes. He’s both all-in on successful a championship — as he was when he swapped all the Boston Celtics‘ youth for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the summertime of 2007 — or he is all the best way out. When it turned clear the Celtics have been now not a viable championship contender, he traded Garnett and Paul Pierce for a complete future in a single fell swoop.

That all the time made the notion that the Utah Jazz may preserve Donovan Mitchell after dealing Rudy Gobert considerably laughable. Nothing about Ainge suggests he could be excited about chasing the play-in event for a yr or two earlier than Mitchell himself ultimately compelled his solution to a contender of his personal selecting. Ainge is many issues. Delusional is not one among them. Once it turned clear the Jazz of their earlier building have been by no means going to win a championship, a full-scale reboot involving trades of each Mitchell and Gobert has felt inevitable.

So as we assemble doable Mitchell offers in mild of Adrian Wojnarowski’s reporting on the All-Star guard’s availability, we should achieve this by the lens of Ainge’s ambitions. This just isn’t a person recognized for half measures. He is not going to wish to make a deal that retains the Jazz considerably aggressive. The identify of the sport right here is picks and upside. In an ideal world, Utah will land belongings that can repay down the road with out threatening its quick efforts to tank. Here are the 5 groups greatest positioned to offer the Jazz such a bundle.

You’ve absolutely heard of the connections by now. Mitchell is represented by CAA. Knicks president Leon Rose as soon as ran CAA’s basketball operations. Mitchell grew up in close by Connecticut. His father labored for the New York Mets. The curiosity right here is nearly definitely mutual. The query is value.

The Knicks can ship the Jazz as a lot draft capital as anybody. They have eight tradable first-round picks, together with 4 of their very own. In Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin and Quentin Grimes, they’ve a cadre of fascinating children for Utah to take an opportunity on. But the road within the sand right here might be former No. 3 total choose RJ Barrett. After all, if the Knicks trade all the things for Mitchell, they’re left with little room for enchancment. Pairing Mitchell (25 years previous) with Barrett (22) and Jalen Brunson (25) would give New York three younger studs to develop round. 

Would Barrett be a deal-breaker for Utah? Probably not, particularly in mild of the constraints dealing with different suitors right here. If the Knicks put seven or eight first-rounders on the desk, no one else goes to high that. Right now, they’re within the driver’s seat with or with out Barrett, and that possible fits Utah simply wonderful. He’s too good to correctly tank with anyway.

Miami’s restricted draft capital goes to make a Mitchell trade troublesome. The Heat do not personal any exterior first-round picks, and so they owe one among their very own in 2025 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. As it stands, they’ll ship the Jazz two first-round picks, three swaps and 2022 first-round choice Nikola Jovic. If they get a bit artistic within the language of the picks, they might ship the Jazz a 3rd, however that technique is not with out dangers. The protections on the choose they owe the Thunder may delay its conveyance till 2026, and if it does, the Heat can solely legally trade their 2028 choose afterward in accordance with a couple of notable CBA guidelines. 

The Stepien Rule prevents groups from being and not using a first-round choose in consecutive drafts. The “Seven Year Rule” prevents groups from buying and selling picks greater than seven years out. In different phrases: The Heat may supply their 2023, 2027 and 2029 decisions for Mitchell conditional upon their 2025 choose going to the Thunder, but when that lottery-protected Thunder choose is not conveyed in 2025, the 2027 choose could be bumped again to 2028 and the 2029 choose must convert to seconds as a result of 2030 is greater than seven years away.

Working in Miami’s favor, although, is Ainge’s long-standing curiosity in Herro. He was reportedly fairly excited about including the previous Kentucky star with the No. 14 choose within the 2019 Draft, however Miami snatched him up one slot earlier. If Ainge views Herro as a cornerstone for a post-Mitchell roster, he’ll think about Miami’s supply. 

One fast word that bears mentioning: While Mitchell and Bam Adebayo are each on Designated Rookie extensions, they’ll legally play on the identical workforce as a result of Miami drafted Adebayo. Mitchell can not, nevertheless, play on the identical workforce as Ben Simmons, who additionally has a Designated Rookie deal, however was traded to Brooklyn. Teams can have two Designated Rookie gamers supplied no less than one among them was drafted by the workforce in query. Speaking of Brooklyn …

As we have mentioned, Simmons and Mitchell can not each play for the Nets subsequent season. So … what if Simmons was on one other workforce? Here’s the state of affairs: The Nets trade Kevin Durant to a workforce able to furnishing them with each draft picks and high-level veterans (for example the Toronto Raptors attributable to their countless provide of wings). They then flip round and flip Simmons elsewhere for draft picks, and as anticipated, trade Kyrie Irving to the Lakers for but extra draft capital. Suddenly, between three trades, the once-barren Nets have collected sufficient picks to flip to Utah for Mitchell, and thru Durant, have additionally collected sufficient supporting expertise round Mitchell to credibly contend within the considerably close to future (for example some mixture of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr. and Precious Achiuwa). 

It’s not an instantaneous contender, however it’s not too shabby both, proper? It’s no less than a begin, a basis constructed on a 25-year-old All-Star who seemingly needs to be of their metropolis and a supporting forged transplanted from the NBA’s greatest developmental infrastructure. Considering how restricted Brooklyn’s choices seem for the time being, it may most likely do a complete lot worse than beginning over with Mitchell. 

The actual grasp up right here is the deal’s mechanics. There are so many transferring components to think about. Is there a suitor keen to give up a number of first-rounders for Simmons? Minnesota was the plain one, however it simply gave away all the things for Gobert. Perhaps Cleveland? And would Durant settle for a trade to any vacation spot except for his most popular Phoenix or Miami? Will the Lakers cough up a second first-rounder for Irving? So many issues have to occur for Brooklyn to be viable. The path is there if the Nets wish to take it, however it’s a treacherous one.

Let’s say Toronto is not particularly enthused about buying and selling for a 34-year-old Durant. Might Mitchell be a viable various? Toronto is so flush with defensive wings that defending him on that finish of the ground appears greater than doable. His one-on-one scoring is precisely what they’ve lacked since Kawhi Leonard left, and his youth and three years of remaining workforce management would give them some runway to construct round him.

But the elemental query right here is identical because the one dealing with Toronto with regard to Durant: Will the Raptors supply Scottie Barnes? The reply might be no. Barnes is a doable future star. But Mitchell is a star proper now, and in contrast to Durant he is most likely going to remain that means for fairly a while. The Raptors could be surrendering some upside in taking the positive factor, however they’re eliminating many of the danger of Barnes’ improvement stagnating. If he grows into a gradual All-Star like Mitchell, his progress will likely be thought of successful.

The Raptors traded for a star who did not wish to be in Toronto as soon as earlier than. Losing Leonard possible scares Toronto out of the race. Unless Mitchell expresses vital curiosity in becoming a member of the Raptors, Barnes is just too invaluable to the hope that Mitchell is worked up to be a Raptor and may lead you to a championship. Still, in the event that they have been going to surrender Barnes for something, a 25-year-old All-Star would most likely be among their first decisions.

This is a kind of concepts that makes extra sense on paper than in actuality. Mitchell is healthier than CJ McCollum. He’s half a decade youthful as nicely. New Orleans has as much as six tradable first-round picks, and two of them could possibly be invaluable, high-upside Lakers picks. If New Orleans was primarily involved about maximizing its title window, flipping McCollum for some belongings after which going all-in on Mitchell would make loads of sense.

But basketball is not performed on paper. Teams merely do not trade for established stars solely to deliberately change them six months later. McCollum was a vital locker room voice final season. They simply aren’t going to interrupt up what was a feel-good workforce final season to chase a borderline All-NBA participant who would characterize solely a modest improve over their incumbent at his place. That’s not how basketball tends to work. If it was, the Pelicans would most likely be courting Durant a bit extra aggressively proper now.

So no, the Pelicans most likely aren’t in on Mitchell. They simply occur to be one of many few groups with the belongings to get him whereas remaining long-term contenders. Eventually, the Pelicans are most likely going to push their chips in on a 3rd star subsequent to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. It simply most likely will not be Mitchell.