This 3-team trade could help Knicks get Donovan Mitchell after RJ Barrett extension
The New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers could team up with the Utah Jazz in a three-team trade that’d see Donovan Mitchell end up in New York. That’d certainly help the Knicks, who recently extended RJ Barrett, but could still trade for Mitchell.
According to Marc Stein (subscription required), “there’s a decent chance that the Lakers will be involved in a deal.” And according to Lakers beat writer Jovan Buha, Utah is a “more likely” trade destination for Russell Westbrook than Indiana.
Last Thursday, LA and Utah finalized a deal that sent Patrick Beverley to the Lakers and Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to the Jazz. The two teams could soon be part of another trade together, but this time with the Knicks.
Los Angeles would get to part ways with Westbrook after a disappointing season, Utah would be able to officially enter a rebuild, and New York would get a star. It’s a move that would benefit all three teams. The Lakers’ two first-round picks (2027, 2029) could be included in the deal as well, but according to Stein, LA’s willing to do that depending on what players the team would be getting back.
It’s almost September, the last full month before the start of the 2022-23 season, which means that a trade could soon be taking place. Things seem to be trending in that direction, but there’s still the chance that a trade won’t happen, although it doesn’t look like that will be the case.
A trade between the Knicks, Jazz, and Lakers that’d result in Donovan Mitchell playing in New York
If a three-team trade does go down, here’s what it could end up looking like:
In this scenario, not only would the Knicks get Donovan Mitchell, but they’d also get Rudy Gay, too. Last season with Utah, the 36-year-old averaged 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 55 games while shooting 41.4% from the field and 34.5% from the 3-point line. With Cam Reddish being traded to Los Angeles in this deal, Rudy could be RJ Barrett’s backup.
The Lakers would be giving up both of their first-round picks, but they’d get to move on from Westbrook and add Bojan Bogdanovic, Evan Fournier, and Reddish. LA’s reportedly been interested in Reddish, so getting him, Bogdanovic, and Fournier should be enough for the Lakers to give up their two picks. Bogdanovic would slide into the starting lineup for LA and Fournier would give the team a 3-point shooter.
The truth is that although the Knicks gave up a first-round pick of their own this past January in a trade for Reddish, as well as Kevin Knox, Reddish’s fit in New York is uncertain. Before he suffered a season-ending injury in March, his playing time was inconsistent. To prevent that being the case again this season, he could carve out a better role for himself in LA.
And as for the Jazz, they’d be getting Westbrook and two promising young players from the Knicks in Obi Toppin and Miles McBride. Out of the two, it’d be tougher to see Toppin leave New York, but the reality is that Utah reportedly wants both him and Quentin Grimes (subscription required) now that Barrett’s been extended.
If the Knicks can get a deal done that includes either Toppin or Grimes, not both, they should go for it, but who knows if Danny Ainge would be satisfied with that. That’s why adding the Lakers to the mix would benefit New York.
The Knicks reportedly believe that Julius Randle can bounce back in 2022-23, which could lead to Toppin being traded. Trading their No. 8 pick in the 2020 draft could backfire, but New York won’t be able to get by with not adding a player like Toppin into a deal.
In the end, Utah would be getting a total of five first-round picks from New York and Los Angeles, but that may end up not being enough for Danny Ainge, which could mean that the Knicks would have to give up at least another pick.
Donovan Mitchell being traded to New York would be huge for the organization. The Knicks have been patiently waiting for a star and the front office’s accumulation of assets could result in the three-time All-Star returning to his home state.
The 2022-23 season is right around the corner and the Knicks will travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies, and who knows, maybe Donovan Mitchell will be there.
