5 new rumors that could shake up Knicks this offseason
1: Donovan Mitchell
The Miami Heat came up short in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, but there’s one player in particular who could be making the move to South Florida. Yes, that player is Donovan Mitchell.
It’s a tale as old as time. The Knicks are linked to a superstar player/s during the season, just for those players to end up elsewhere.
It’s hard to not get your hopes up, but at the same time, disappointment is expected. As for now, Mitchell is still on the Utah Jazz’s roster, but there’s been plenty of talk about the guard requesting a trade. Because of his New York roots, he’s been linked to the Knicks, but according to Fischer, that possibility is “highly unlikely.”
Sigh. It’s not as if New York was the definite landing spot for Mitchell, and there are still other moves that the Knicks could make during the offseason, but a lot of fans had their sights set on Mitchell. It’s looking like if Mitchell wants a trade, it’s going to be to Miami. Fischer wrote:
"Even if Mitchell were to ultimately request a trade from the Jazz, he still has three full years committed on his contract before a player option in 2025-26. Plus, there’s healthy skepticism around the NBA that New York’s best offer for Mitchell would trump other teams’ pursuits, such as a potential package from Miami that would theoretically center around Tyler Herro plus other salary and multiple first-round picks."
If Mitchell were to be traded to the Heat, that’d be interesting. And realistically, it’s hard to think about why he wouldn’t want to play for a team that’s been close to winning a title over the past two years.
Who knows, though. As mentioned, we know that Mitchell will forever be tied to New York, but as Fischer wrote, a possible offer from the Knicks won’t be near as enticing as what the Heat would be able to provide.
And the Jazz don’t appear to be willing to let Mitchell go, but if he wants to leave, it wouldn’t make sense to keep him in Utah against his will. That’d be a tough break-up for the Jazz, who would try to get as much in return for the 3-time All-Star.
If your main takeaway from all of this is that Leon Rose and New York aren’t going to make a big splash during the offseason, you could end up being right. And for those who may be worried about the Knicks’ dilemma at point guard, don’t sell Quickley short.
If Fischer ends up being right, and he has been right plenty of times in the past, most notably about James Harden wanting out of Brooklyn, New York fans could look back on this article a year from now and be thankful that the Knicks didn’t make any major offseason moves. Somehow, this could all end up being a blessing in disguise.
