Daily Knicks
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4 Superstars the Knicks could wait to target in 2024 offseason trade

By Jordanna Clark

CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 26: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers controls the ball during Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 26, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. New York defeated Cleveland 106-95 to win the series 4-1. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 26: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers controls the ball during Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 26, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. New York defeated Cleveland 106-95 to win the series 4-1. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by David Richard/USA TODAY Sports) – New York Knicks /

1: Donovan Mitchell

No, the Donovan Mitchell-Knicks trade dream hasn’t ended. New York had a chance to get the guard last summer but didn’t meet Danny Ainge’s demands. Instead, he went to Cleveland. The Knicks were clowned for not trading for Mitchell but they were the ones to eliminate the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.

Mitchell could be a free agent in 2025, but if he exercises his $37 million player option for 2025-26, he won’t be a free agent until the summer of 2026. New York could make a play at him then, but there’s always the possibility that he’d request a trade before that point.

The New York native said several times after being traded to Cleveland that he thought that he was going to “go home” to the Knicks. In an interview following his first full season with the Cavaliers, Mitchell raved about what it was like to play at MSG during the playoffs. Many assumed that meant he still has the desire to play with the Knicks, which could be true, but it isn’t unusual for an opposing player to love playing at the Garden.

Cleveland didn’t make the playoff run that it hoped after acquiring Mitchell last offseason, so the 2023-24 season will be especially critical for the Cavaliers. Mitchell is no stranger to being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs as he faced that same fate in three of his five seasons with the Jazz. If Cleveland is sent home in the first round, or even the semifinals in 2024, the lure of going to New York may be too strong for Mitchell to ignore.

Maybe Donovan Mitchell is destined to be a Knick. That’s a sentence that should make every Cavaliers fan sick, but even they know that it’s a possibility.

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