Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Knicks: 3 reasons Mitchell trade hasn’t happened – Haggling over picks
However much leverage the Knicks and Jazz have, ultimately they will need to land on draft compensation. The Jazz are going to move Mitchell and however many other veterans they can and enter a full rebuild. That means they will need significant draft compensation in return for their young All-Star guard.
The tricky part is that the Jazz spooked the market with the Rudy Gobert trade that saw endless picks and players head back to Utah. If Gobert at his age and on his contract is worth the equivalent of five first-round picks and a couple of young players, how much more will Danny Ainge and the Jazz expect for Mitchell?
The correct answer is that Gobert was an outlier, the result of a general manager pushing all of his chips into the middle for a win-now player. Just like the trade for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett didn’t suddenly open the floodgates, so too will the Gobert trade not elevate trades for stars into the stratosphere.
That all being the case, the Jazz will expect a lot, and the Knicks will be digging in their heels not to give it up more than necessary. Ultimately, the deep chest of picks that the Knicks own will likely be to their detriment, as the Jazz know they can keep pushing for more. Will the final number be five first-round picks? Six? That difference may be the final haggling point for a deal to get done.
New York Knicks</a> approached this summer, looking to go big game hunting. They moved some money (and contracts) around to free up the space to sign point guard Jalen Brunson, who is easily the best player to change teams in <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/22/new-york-knicks-mitchell-trade-hasnt-happened/3/"https://hoopshabit.com/">NBA Free Agency this summer. They did so while keeping the cupboard stocked for the next big move.</p>
<p>The Utah Jazz looked hard in the mirror this offseason, and they didn’t like what they saw. A team that perennially won regular season games but couldn’t hack it in the playoffs against the best of opponents. They made the decision to tear things down, by trading Rudy Gobert for a host of picks and making it known that their other star, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/22/new-york-knicks-mitchell-trade-hasnt-happened/3/"https://www.nba.com/player/1628378/donovan-mitchell" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Donovan Mitchell</a>, was available for trade.</p>
<h2>The New York Knicks are looked at as the inevitable landing spot for Donovan Mitchell. What is holding up the trade and why hasn’t it happened yet?</h2>
<p>The Jazz and the Knicks did, and do, appear to be on a collision course. A big-market team overflowing with draft assets trying to win now? A team willing to trade its star for draft picks? It was seemingly a match made in heaven.</p>
<p>Yet even now, weeks later, no traction on a trade has publicly occurred. Everyone agrees that the Knicks are by far the front-runners for Mitchell, but no deal has been consummated. Why is that? Assuming that the Jazz do indeed want to trade Mitchell, and the Knicks do indeed want him, here are three hang-ups that have slowed this process down.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/22/new-york-knicks-mitchell-trade-hasnt-happened/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Waiting on leverage </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-440144" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/22/new-york-knicks-mitchell-trade-hasnt-happened/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2135,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1361654725.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks" width="3200" height="2135" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1361654725.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1361654725-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">James Bouknight (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Knicks: 3 reasons Mitchell trade hasn’t happened – Waiting on leverage</h2>
<p>Ask any informed NBA fan, reporter, or analyst and they will likely tell you the same thing: Donovan Mitchell is going to be a member of the New York Knicks; it’s just a question of when. If the Jazz agree to a deal while everyone, including the Knicks, believes this, then they will be selling low because they lack the leverage to make the Knicks give up their best package.</p>
<p>Therefore, the Jazz have to increase their external leverage by attracting other suitors. That makes them the likely source of the reporting in the last week that other teams, such as the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards, are interested in Mitchell. The more competition, the more the Knicks could be convinced to up their offer.</p>
<p>The trick is getting the Knicks to believe these other teams are truly interested. There is a realm of possibility where the Knicks cry wolf at these rumors, right up until the point that another team finally pushes some major chips into the middle and the Jazz say yes before the Knicks have time to respond.</p>
<p>The Jazz are therefore waiting for these rumors to be substantiated, for either an offer to come in or for the Knicks to finally believe these overtures from other teams are legitimate. Once they do, the Jazz regains</p>
<p>some of the leverage they have lost.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/22/new-york-knicks-mitchell-trade-hasnt-happened/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Haggling over picks </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-433538" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/22/new-york-knicks-mitchell-trade-hasnt-happened/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1331364274.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1331364274.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1331364274-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>Knicks: 3 reasons Mitchell trade hasn’t happened – Haggling over picks</h2>
<p>However much leverage the Knicks and Jazz have, ultimately they will need to land on draft compensation. The Jazz are going to move Mitchell and however many other veterans they can and enter a full rebuild. That means they will need significant draft compensation in return for their young All-Star guard.</p>
<p>The tricky part is that the Jazz spooked the market with the Rudy Gobert trade that saw endless picks and players head back to Utah. If Gobert at his age and on his contract is worth the equivalent of five first-round picks and a couple of young players, how much more will Danny Ainge and the Jazz expect for Mitchell?</p>
<p>The correct answer is that Gobert was an outlier, the result of a general manager pushing all of his chips into the middle for a win-now player. Just like the trade for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett didn’t suddenly open the floodgates, so too will the Gobert trade not elevate trades for stars into the stratosphere.</p>
<p>That all being the case, the Jazz will expect a lot, and the Knicks will be digging in their heels not to give it up more than necessary. Ultimately, the deep chest of picks that the Knicks own will likely be to their detriment, as the Jazz know they can keep pushing for more. Will the final number be five first-round picks? Six? That difference may be the final haggling point for a deal to get done.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/22/new-york-knicks-mitchell-trade-hasnt-happened/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Haggling over players </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-447734" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/22/new-york-knicks-mitchell-trade-hasnt-happened/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1390897388.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1390897388.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1390897388-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Obi Toppin, New York Knicks. Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>Knicks: 3 reasons Mitchell trade hasn’t happened – Haggling over players</h2>
<p>The New York Knicks aren’t going to give up RJ Barrett in a Donovan Mitchell trade, and it’s possible the Jazz don’t want him anyway. They want to tear it all down and reset, whereas Barrett is due for a contract extension. Utah wants to avoid a situation like the Oklahoma City Thunder with a single young star alienated in the midst of a rebuild, instead loading up on draft capital.</p>
<p>The question thus becomes which other players the Knicks are going to put into the deal. To match Mitchell’s salary, a deal executed this offseason likely has to include either Julius Randle or Evan Fournier. Neither contract looks great, and if the Knicks think the Jazz will reduce their asking price because Randle is in the deal they will have that corrected in a hurry, which likely means it is Fournier who ends up as the matching salary.</p>
<p>Finally, it’s the young players. Obi Toppin has shown real flashes but is stuck behind Randle, as both are true fours. Immanuel Quickley is too good to be a bench player but not good enough to start at point guard. Quentin Grimes absolutely balled out in Summer League. Miles McBride is really intriguing as a two-way guard. The Knicks are flush with young players; who do the Jazz want, and who are the Knicks willing to give up?</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="light" data-text="NBA Free Agency: Grading all 30 teams on trades and signings" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/16/nba-free-agency-grading-teams-trades-signings/" data-call-to-action="Must Read"> <div class="story-link-related"> <a class="story-link-related-btn" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-related-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/22/new-york-knicks-mitchell-trade-hasnt-happened/3/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/16/nba-free-agency-grading-teams-trades-signings/"> <span class="call_to_action">Must Read:</span> NBA Free Agency: Grading all 30 teams on trades and signings </a> </div>
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<p>In the end, this trade truly feels like it will get done. The Jazz don’t have much urgency, however, and the Knicks aren’t feeling pressure to up their offer from outside sources. This negotiation could stretch out into training camp or beyond before it is finally resolved and Donovan Mitchell moves to the Big Apple.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">