NEW YORK — If Donovan Mitchell ever hits the trade market, the Knicks should throw the kitchen sink immediately. That includes any young players and draft assets the Jazz ask for. There is no need for first-round picks when you can land a player of Mitchell’s caliber.
Mitchell and teammate Rudy Gobert’s relationship “doesn’t appear salvageable,” according to The Athletic, after Gobert became the first player to test positive for the coronavirus on March 11. Mitchell’s test results came back positive the next day, and the spotlight shifted to Gobert, who was admittedly reckless, touching microphones and teammates and their belongings while the COVID-19 outbreak was in its early stages in the United States.
That can change. There is no basketball for the foreseeable future. Time heals most wounds. The Jazz are a potential contender for a deep playoff run. That cannot happen without Mitchell’s electrifying perimeter scoring and Gobert’s intimidating interior defense.
Gobert apologized for his actions in an Instagram post, but Mitchell admitted he needed space.
“To be honest with you, it took awhile for me to kind of cool off,” Mitchell said in an interview on Good Morning America. “I read what he said and heard what he said. I’m glad he’s doing OK, I’m glad I’m doing well.”
There is no way to know who gave the coronavirus to who, but if he no longer wants to play with the French big man and reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Jazz brass would be wise to move the center elsewhere post-haste.
Mitchell is from Westchester County. His father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., is an executive for the Mets. Mitchell has yet to sign his max rookie extension and only has one year left on his contract with the Jazz.
There is also the undeniable tie to New York: Mitchell is represented by Creative Artists Agency, whose former CEO, Leon Rose, just left to become Knicks president of basketball operations.
The Knicks should have drafted Mitchell a long time ago. If you re-drafted the 2017 NBA draft, only two players would be in consideration to go ahead of the Jazz star: Boston’s Jayson Tatum and maybe Miami’s Bam Adebayo.
The Knicks had a chance to take Mitchell when he slid to pick No. 8. Ex-Knicks team president Phil Jackson and ex-general manager Steve Mills selected Frank Ntilikina, and the rest was history.
The Knicks could potentially have an opportunity to adjust their course. They can’t afford to blow it like they did the 2017 draft. They have seven first-round picks over the next four draft classes, including each of their own, a 2020 first-round from the Clippers, an unprotected 2021 first-round from the Mavericks, and another first-round pick from Dallas that’s top-10 protected — which is highly likely to convey in the Luka Doncic-Kristaps Porzingis era.
They also have several players they can add to sweeten the pot, including rookie guard RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Dennis Smith Jr., Julius Randle, Bobby Portis and, of course, Ntilikina.
Mitchell is the kind of player others would line up to play for. He made the All-Star team for the second year in a row this season, averaging 24 points, four rebounds and four assists per game. Mitchell is only 23 years old, barely into his prime. The Knicks could trade a shot in the dark for a proven star — one who could bring others with him.
The Knicks aren’t the only team in New York, and the Nets have a star guard who says the team needs another piece to be a championship contender. The Nets don’t have the draft capital that exists with the Knicks, but they do have several, more proven young players they could lump in a trade, including Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Taurean Prince and Jarrett Allen.
The Nets have two options for their future on the table: They could keep the roster as-is and put forth a legitimate 10-man rotation, competing for a championship with one of the deepest rotations in the NBA. Or they forfeit that depth for a star of Mitchell’s (or Bradley Beal’s) caliber. A trio of Irving, Durant and Mitchell/Beal would be tough for any team to beat, East or West.
The Knicks need Mitchell more than the Nets do. There is no sense in having draft picks if they don’t draft well, let alone develop their talent. The Knicks have only drafted and developed one player into an All-Star this century: David Lee, who made his first All-Star appearance in 2010.
The Knicks traded him the very next summer. They also traded Porzingis, who was on an All-Star trajectory until things went south in New York.
There is no guarantee Mitchell becomes available for trade. In fact, it wouldn’t be smart of Utah to trade the brightest star the franchise has had since the John Stockton and Karl Malone era and who has potential to overtake Deron Williams as one of the more electrifying back court talents in Jazz history.
Williams eventually negotiated his way out of Salt Lake City and into Barclays Center. Should Mitchell be ready to move on from Utah, the Knicks had better not let him follow suit.
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