Donovan ‘Spida’ Mitchell trade rumors involving the New York Knicks are heating up despite the fact that the Utah Jazz indicated they have no desire to trade their starting shooting guard.
A rift divided the Utah Jazz the locker room this season involving a specific beef between Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, which fueled trade rumors. Mitchell stopped passing to Gobert, which blew up NBA Twitter. Several other members of the Jazz grew tired with an abrasive Gobert and his asshole antics, which led to speculation that the team will be broken up in the offseason.
In the second half of the regular season, rumors swirled in Salt Lake City that Quin Snyder could become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, or replace Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. Of course, the rumors about the Lakers were just rumors. Snyder did not interview with the Lakers, who narrowed down their head coaching search to Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts, or Kenny Atkinson. Of course, Snyder could still bolt, especially if Popovich decides to retire from the Spurs.
If the Jazz want to rebuild, Mitchell and Gobert are their most trade-worthy assets. However, the Jazz were adamant that they want to keep Mitchell, which tipped their hand that Gobert will be the one traded this offseason. Gobert trade rumors included the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets.
MSG Spida
Mitchell grew up in the New York City suburbs of Westchester. His father played pro baseball with the New York Mets, so he has NYC sports in his blood. Mitchell was a big fan of the New York Knicks while growing up, even the bad teams.
Even though Mitchell still has a couple of years remaining on his contract, he could force a trade to the Big Apple. The Knicks seek an upgrade and have plenty of young talent on their roster that they can deal to bring Mitchell to Gotham. The Knicks were recently awarded the #11 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. There’s been rampant speculation that any deal for Mitchell would include their current #11 pick, along with former first-rounder Obi Toppin.
Several members of the Knicks organization made an appearance at the first game of the Utah Jazz versus Dallas Mavs first-round series. Julius Randle, general manager Leon Rose, and ex-Knicks star Allan Houston were all in attendance at Game 1 hosted in Dallas. They were spotted dapping it up with Mitchell during the pregame.
The Knicks were supposedly scouting and courting Jalen Brunson. Last month, Brunson going to the Knicks in free agency seemed like a higher possibility than a trade for Mitchell. However, after the Mavs advanced to the Western Conference Finals, they might want to keep the core team intact around Luka Doncic, especially Brunson.
If Brunson is no longer in the mix, the Knicks will focus on bringing Mitchell back home to New York.
The Knicks were one of the long shots on the NBA futures board at +20000 odds to win the 2023 NBA championship. The Jazz are +4000 odds to win the title next season.