Opinion: Donovan Mitchell Should Request A Trade To These 2 Teams
The Utah Jazz were sent home by the Dallas Mavericks in the first-round of the playoff on Thursday evening when they lost Game 6 by a score of 98-96 on their home floor.
The Jazz are led by All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, but haven't been able to make a serious run in the playoffs.
Last season, they had the best regular season record in the entire NBA, but lost in the second-round of the playoffs.
This season, they totally regressed to being the fifth seed in the west, and losing in the first-round, so now people will begin to speculate about the future of Mitchell in Utah.
I believe that Mitchell should request a trade to either the New York Knicks or Atlanta Hawks.
Why the Knicks?
Mitchell is an All-Star guard, and that is something that would benefit the Knicks in a great way. They have a solid roster of young players, and are led mostly by wing players and forwards.
They have not truly had a play-maker the past few seasons, and due to the injuries of Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose this year, they were starting Alec Burks at point guard.
Mitchell is not a point guard, but he is a ball-handler and play-maker that would give the Knicks a totally new look with Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson (and if they were able to keep RJ Barrett in a hypothetical trade).
As for Mitchell personally, he is from New York, and is a very public New York Mets fan, so there is some personal element to just how fitting it would be for him to play there.
In addition, everyone knows that NBA stars like to play in big markets, and Mitchell playing at Madison Square Garden would be the greatest thing for his personal brand.
Especially if the team makes a deep playoff run is consistently winning.
Why the Hawks?
Trae Young is one of the top-ten players in the world, but the Atlanta Hawks need to get him some help.
In four seasons, they have never given him an All-Star teammate.
Last season, Young led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals, but this season they lost in the first-round of the playoffs.
Outside of Young, the Hawks do not have a player who can carry the offensive load on a nightly basis.
Getting Mitchell in a backcourt with Young would be arguably the best duo in the Eastern Conference, and the surefire best backcourt in the east.
Mitchell has never played with someone the caliber of Young, and Young has never played with someone the caliber of Mitchell.
They would be a force, and instantly a contender to win an NBA Championship.
