NBA Trade Rumors: Donovan Mitchell still hasn’t officially requested a trade from the Utah Jazz, but would be open to the Knicks, Nets, and Heat.
A month away from the start of training camp and it doesn’t appear we’re any closer to a trade for Donovan Mitchell. Though, according to a recent report, while he hasn’t officially requested a trade from the Utah Jazz, he does have a preference list if he were to be moved.
Mitchell is not going to push for a trade as of now, but he would be open to a trade to the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, or Miami Heat. It seems as if he wants to be on the East Coast or in Miami. Seems about right for Mitchell, who has been linked to both throughout the last couple of seasons.
Why Donovan Mitchell only makes sense to the New York Knicks
A trade to the Nets or Heat seems unlikely considering the odds that both teams are stacked against. For Brooklyn, they’d have to trade Ben Simmons to make a deal happen. Right now, Simmons’ trade value is at an all-time low and it makes no sense for the Nets to part ways with him now.
For the Heat, they simply don’t have plenty of assets and not enough draft pick compensation that would appease the Jazz. Unless something drastically changes, Miami and Brooklyn seem highly unlikely as possible destinations for Mitchell.
That leaves the Knicks as the most likely destination that would make sense from Mitchell’s point of view. And that’s why New York has consistently been viewed as the favorite to land Mitchell throughout this entire process.
The big question is if the Knicks and Jazz will be able to find a nice middle ground between what both feel is fair compensation for Mitchell. Right now, a deal doesn’t appear imminent. Though, that can always change in an instant.
At this point, it would be surprising if Mitchell isn’t traded. It’s more a matter of “when and where” and not “if.”