Trade talks between the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz are stalled, so there hasn’t been much to say about Donovan Mitchell’s future. With three guaranteed years still left on his contract, Mitchell could very well be suiting up for Utah at the start of the 2022-23 season.
The Jazz don’t have to trade Mitchell, but it’d fit their timeline given that they dealt Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves a few weeks ago. The guard hasn’t requested a trade either, which would certainly expedite the process if he were to do so.
There’s been rumors floating around the past year or so about Mitchell possibly wanting out of Utah and yet another first-round exit by the Jazz has made his possible departure more probable. Therefore, there’s plenty of reason to assume that he won’t be in Utah through the 2024-25 season.
The Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen published a piece on Tuesday about why the Jazz should want to trade Mitchell. In it, he mentioned that according to league insiders, Mitchell will ‘likely sign outside of Utah’ in 2025.
Knicks trade target Donovan Mitchell likely leaving the Jazz shouldn’t come as a surprise
Larsen was adding another layer to why Utah should trade Mitchell, but that part of his piece has been turned into a story by other publications, such as Bleacher Report.
"As the wait to see if Donovan Mitchell gets traded before the start of the 2022-23 season continues, there is new insight into why the Utah Jazz would consider moving their 25-year-old superstar.Per Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune, there is an “overwhelming” feeling among NBA insiders that Mitchell would “likely” leave the Jazz when he can opt out of his current deal after the 2024-25 season."
Should that really be considered a new insight? Because at this point it feels like common knowledge, and that’s only if Mitchell stays with the Jazz for another three full seasons. At this point, that seems extremely unlikely.
The three-time All-Star is going to turn 26 before the start of the 2022-23 season, so that means that at the end of the 2024-25 season, he’ll be coming up on year 29. With Gobert gone and Mitchell currently in his prime, there isn’t a case for him to stay in Utah.
Larsen wrote that it’d make sense for Mitchell to want to live in New York full-time because that’s where he’s from and where he spends a portion of his offseason. The Knicks remain the most likely landing spot for the guard.
There isn’t a lot that you can be sure of in life, but one of them is that Mitchell won’t be with the Jazz beyond 2024-25, and honestly, he’ll likely be gone long before then.
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