After Rudy Gobert Trade, Could Donovan Mitchell Be Knicks-Bound?
The NBA world is shaking Friday after the Minnesota Timberwolves acquired Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz.
It cost the Timberwolves a king's ransom to trade for the French big man, sending Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, and four first-round picks to Utah.
Now that Utah has traded one star without getting one in return, is Donovan Mitchell next to say goodbye? And are the New York Knicks a possible suitor?
After losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs – a series where newly-acquired Brunson averaged 27.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 48/36/85 shooting efficiency through six games – it feels like the full implosion of the Jazz is a matter of 'when' and not 'if.'
The Knicks' interest in Mitchell has been well documented, and now they can put together a pretty respectable trade package for Mitchell if they wanted to. Here's what we think a trade would have to look like to get Mitchell to New York:
Knicks receive: Donovan Mitchell
Jazz receive: Julius Randle, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, 2023 first-round pick (via Detroit), 2023 first-round pick (via Dallas), 2025 first-round pick
Although that might seem like a bit of an overpay, that's the kind of trade package teams are looking at if they want to acquire a star like Mitchell, who averages more than 25 points per game. Take Dejounte Murray for example. He's not necessarily a better player than Mitchell, and yet the San Antonio Spurs still essentially got four first-round picks for him (two of them being unprotected).
A potential starting lineup for the Knicks in this scenario would look like: Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Fournier, RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson.
