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Donovan Mitchell Trade Rumors: Jazz Willing to Listen to Offers; Price Appears Steep
July 12, 2022
The Utah Jazz are beginning to warm to outside interest in star guard Donovan Mitchell, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wojnarowski added that Utah's price "appears to be steep":
The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen reported Sunday rival teams had reached out about Mitchell's availability. However, Utah declined to entertain any conversations because it felt opposing franchises were trying to "pounce on a perceived opportunity to trade for Mitchell cheaply."
This isn't a surprising development, and many will have felt Mitchell's days in Salt Lake City were numbered when the Rudy Gobert trade was made.
The Jazz flipped Rudy Gobert for four first-round picks, a first-round pick swap in 2026 and a player haul of Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro and 2022 first-round pick Walker Kessler.
Perhaps Utah could use all of those assets to land another star via trade, but it certainly looked like general manger Justin Zanik and CEO Danny Ainge were moving in an entirely different direction.
As good as the Jazz were under former head coach Quin Snyder, they couldn't get past the conference semifinals in any of their last six playoff trips. If a retool wasn't going to dramatically raise the team's ceiling, then it's time to rebuild.
And if the Gobert trade is any indication, Utah is well positioned to further lay the groundwork for its next stage.
The Athletic's Tony Jones reported the New York Knicks may "quickly try and put together a package."
Mitchell is a native of Elmsford, New York, so a move to the Knicks would put him closer to home.
The Knicks weren't being very subtle, either, when they poached Johnnie Bryant from the Jazz to join their coaching staff ahead of the 2020-21 season. NBA insider Marc Stein described Bryant as a "known favorite" of Mitchell when Utah was looking for a new head coach this offseason.
New York can probably make this happen since a trade centered around RJ Barrett might be attractive for the Jazz.
But now that the change in the Jazz's position on Mitchell is out in the open, the Knicks are bound to get some competition.
The Gobert trade seemed to come together rather quickly. Whereas the Kevin Durant saga drags on with no end in sight, the drama surrounding Mitchell might wrap up faster than expected.