Since ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski's report that the Jazz "are showing a willingness to listen on possible trade scenarios" for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, the Knicks have been heavily linked as a potential landing spot.
How could they not?
More than just the typical conjecture that links available stars to the Knicks, there are multiple elements at play that would entice all parties to a potential deal:
- The son of a Mets executive, Mitchell is a native New Yorker that feels at home at Madison Square Garden
- The Knicks have long been rumored to have interest in Mitchell, evidenced by their presence at his (and Jalen Brunson's) playoff games in 2022
- The trade of Rudy Gobert signifies a looming rebuild in Utah
With that out of the way, it's safe to say that a trade that sends Mitchell to New York would make sense, but is there a realistic deal to be made?
Let's explore what a trade between the Jazz and Knicks could look like.
MORE: Which teams are the betting favorites to land Donovan Mitchell via trade?
What could the Knicks' offer for Donovan Mitchell look like?
Talented young players
While the Knicks don't have a 2022 All-Star to send in a package to acquire Mitchell, they do have young talent and would need to include a number of players to make salaries match.
With Mitchell set to earn north of $30 million during the upcoming season, it wouldn't be impossible for New York to make the money work, but much would depend on which eligible players Utah is interested in.
Here's how that shakes out:
| Player | 2022-23 Salary |
| Julius Randle | $23.8 million |
| Evan Fournier | $18.0 million |
| Derrick Rose | $14.5 million |
| RJ Barrett | $10.9 million |
| Cam Reddish | $5.9 million |
| Obi Toppin | $5.4 million |
| Immanuel Quickley | $2.3 million |
| Quentin Grimes | $2.3 million |
| Miles McBride | $1.6 million |
Recently-signed players Jalen Brunson, Isaiah Hartenstein, Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims are ineligible to be traded by New York, but the idea would likely be to have them along with Mitchell anyway.
Unless the Jazz have great interest in building around Randle, who wasn't an All-Star in 2022 but earned both an All-Star and All-NBA selection in 2021, a potential trade would likely start with the base salary of Fournier, whose $18.0 million salary would do plenty of the heavy lifting of making the money match.
From there, the first question is whether or not New York would be willing to part ways with Barrett in order to acquire Mitchell. Barrett is four years younger and has taken leaps in each of his three NBA seasons, including last season when he averaged a career-best 20.0 points per game.
According to SNY's Ian Begley, the Knicks have "no interest" in trading Barrett. So there's that.
After Barrett, the team has a few other talented young prospects on rookie deals, most notably Quickley, Reddish and Toppin. The package of those young players would likely depend on Utah's interest, but perimeter players like Grimes, McBride, Quickley and Reddish could probably be had in a deal that lands an All-Star guard.
It all goes back to whether or not the Jazz have any interest in the above young talent, which would only be the beginning of a deal.
MORE: Who says no? Debating six potential Kevin Durant trade packages
Draft capital
In recent years, trades involving All-Stars Anthony Davis, Paul George, Jrue Holiday and, more recently, Gobert, have shown that when stars of a similar caliber aren't being swapped, draft capital reigns supreme.
When considering hypothetical trades for Mitchell, Knicks fans should begin by thinking about the picks the team could move.
Fortunately for New York, it's accumulated a respectable amount of draft capital in the coming years. In addition to their own picks, the Knicks are owed a first-round pick from the Mavericks, multiple first-round picks from the Pistons, a first-round pick from the Wizards and a 2025 first-round pick from the Bucks.
TRADE DETAILS: What did the Timberwolves part ways with to acquire Rudy Gobert?
New York is in a position to part ways with a significant number of draft picks and still have some to keep, softening the blow in case things don't play out as expected.
For the Jazz, parting ways with their All-Star duo in one offseason would signify the hard reset button being pushed, something that draft capital only helps with. We've seen it in New Orleans and Oklahoma City, and now Utah could be next to accumulate a treasure trove of picks given what it already received in exchange for Gobert.
As Brian Windhorst explained in his now-famous monologue, we've seen Danny Ainge initiate this kind of rebuild before. Who's to say he isn't in the midst of doing it once again?
Donovan Mitchell contract
(All salary figures via Spotrac)
Mitchell is under contract through at least the 2024-25 season with a player option worth $37.1 million for the 2025-26 season. With Mitchell under team control for at least three seasons, it's a worthy investment.
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | |
| Donovan Mitchell | $30,351,780 | $32,600,060 | $34,848,340 | $37,096,620 (PO) | UFA |
PO = Player option
UFA = Unrestricted free agent
