After playing it safe the past few offseasons, the Knicks and their tortured fan base are long overdue for a splash. New York courted Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving during last year's free agency but came up empty in both pursuits (they snubbed the Knicks for cross-town rival Brooklyn).
Newly-crowned GM Leon Rose has his work cut out for him as the Knicks continue their agonizing rebuild, but perhaps there's a solution. Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell can't cure all that ails the Knicks in their current, talent-starved incarnation, but the 23-year-old would certainly qualify as an upgrade for a franchise in desperate need of star power.
Convincing the Jazz to part with their leading scorer is much easier said than done, though SNY's Ian Begley thinks it could be an avenue worth exploring. Mitchell has ties to the area (he grew up in nearby Westchester Country) and may be looking for a way to escape Utah after a falling out with teammate Rudy Gobert. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Friday that Mitchell's relationship with Gobert, which has soured since both players contracted the coronavirus last month (they have since recovered), may not be "salvageable."
There's been no indication the Jazz are shopping the disgruntled Mitchell—or Gobert for that matter—though if there was ever a time to gauge trade interest in the All-Star guard, this is it. New York doesn't have much talent to offer Utah outside of promising up-and-comers Mitchell Robinson and RJ Barrett, though the Knicks have plenty of draft capital with seven first-round picks over their next four drafts.
The Knicks' surplus of picks stems from recent trades of Kristaps Porzingis, now a Dallas Maverick, and Marcus Morris, who was shipped to the Clippers at this year's trade deadline. After speaking with a rival executive, Begley came away with the belief that it would likely require a package of Barrett and two first-rounders for the Knicks to pry Mitchell away from Utah, and even that might not be enough to get it done. Begley theorizes that Utah would be more inclined to trade for Barrett, who the Knicks selected third overall in last year's draft, than Robinson, who would be a redundancy if the Jazz retained Gobert.
Mitchell was having a breakout year before the NBA suspended play last month, averaging a career-high 24.2 points per game for the Jazz, who hold the Western Conference's fourth-best record behind the Nuggets, Clippers and the top-seeded Lakers. The third-year guard out of Louisville will be a restricted free agent after the 2020-21 season.
