New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Kevin Love + Walker Kessler to Knicks, Jazz Get Mitchell Robinson

Could the Hawks land a backup point guard from their Eastern Conference rivals as part of a larger deal that sends Mitchell Robinson to the Jazz in exchange for more depth in New York?

Jan 27, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Miami Heat forward Kevin Love (42) runs up court after making a basket against the New York Knicks during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Although it's always difficult to predict exactly how the offseason will affect the upcoming NBA season, it seems clear that the Eastern Conference is going to be up for grabs. The Indiana Pacers won the conference last year in one of the most surprising championship runs in recent memory, but they are going to be without Tyrese Haliburton for the year. The Boston Celtics have always been a force in the Eastern Conference, but Jayson Tatum went down with an Achilles injury in the second round and will miss the upcoming season. The Bucks made a big move to add Myles Turner, but they had to cut Damian Lillard to do it. In short, the only three teams that seem to be locks for postseason returns are the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. That leaves an opportunity for several teams to take advantage.

The Atlanta Hawks are certainly doing their best to seize that opportunity. After trading for Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis and drafting Georgia power forward Asa Newell, Atlanta reached a pair of huge free agent signings. The Hawks signed a marquee free agent in Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker to a four-year, $62 million deal in a sign and trade that sent a 2027 2nd-round pick (via CLE) to the Wolves. Then, the Hawks signed free agent guard Luke Kennard to a one-year, $11 million deal. They also got an unprotected first-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in a draft-night trade. Given the massive injuries in the Eastern Conference next season, it seems that the Atlanta Hawks are going for it and making moves to put themselves in position to contend. One area they could still use some depth is at small forward or another ball-handler.

The Knicks pulled off an upset win over the Boston Celtics in the second round to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, but they fell short against the Pacers. Fortunately, Indiana seems unlikely to repeat as champions of the East and the Knicks should have an excellent shot to make the Finals given the state of the conference. They just signed forward Mikal Bridges on a long-term deal that locks in their core of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Now, New York faces the challenge of building a competent bench around these expensive players. They made positive moves in that direction by signing Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, but it would really help New York if they could get more reliable depth at center. Towns is an incredibly effective contributor on offense, but he's not a rim protector and needs help on defense in order to make him a championship-caliber starter.

Fortunately, the Utah Jazz are now flush with big men to trade. After sending Collin Sexton away to the Hornets in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic, the Jazz have four playable centers in Nurkic, Walker Kessler, Kevin Love and Kyle Fillipowski. Fillipowski is the most intriguing of those options - he's excelled in Summer League and it's possible that the Jazz may want to re-route some of the veteran centers that are blocking his way to playing time. Specifically, an intriguing offer might cause them to move on from Kessler. He's entering the last year of his deal and has topped out as a solid center who can block shots and be a net-neutral on offense. Utah still needs more picks to further their rebuild and it's possible they could get them from New York.

So how about a trade where each of these teams tries to fill a need?

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Tyler Kolek

New York Knicks Receive: Walker Kessler, Kevin Love and Svi Mykhailiuk

Utah Jazz Receive: Mitchell Robinson, Pacome Dadiet, 2026 1st-round pick (via NYK)

Why the Hawks would do this deal: Kolek has shown signs of brilliance as a passer, but he needs to get better as a shooter and defender before he can be trusted as a regular season, let alone postseason, rotation player. However, the Marquette guard scored 23 points in the first half of New York's only Summer League win. He could develop into a solid backup point guard on a cost-controlled deal and the Hawks are risking very little to find out. The Hawks don't have an immediate need at backup point guard if Keaton Wallace and Kobe Bufkin can both stay healthy, so they can afford to wait on Kolek to develop.

Why the Hawks would not do this deal: Kolek only shot 17.1% from deep and as a small guard, his shooting needs to be better for him to be a viable NBA player. It may be too much of a development project for Atlanta to take on.

Why the Knicks would do this deal: Robinson is a great player, but they can re-create him in the aggregate with Kessler and Love. Kessler is one of the better rim protectors in the league, posting a BLK% of 7.4% and a staggering 2.4 blocks per game. He made massive strides as a rebounder, recording a league-leading OREB% of 16.6% last year while continuing to end possessions as an intimidating defensive rebounder. He's a good rim-runner who can play off a talented passer like Jalen Brunson. However, he doesn't have the postseason experience that Love provides. He was an excellent reserve for the Miami Heat during their run to the NBA Finals and still has a little bit left as a shooter, hitting 34.4% of his threes on 4.4 attempts per game during his last full season in 2023-24. There were a myriad of non-basketball reasons that affected Love this season and it wouldn't be difficult to envision him as the gritty veteran that New York needs off the bench. Furthermore, Mykhailiuk is a solid bench wing who averaged 8.8 points per game and shot 80% from the charity stripe. He competes hard on both ends and has championship experience from his time with the Celtics. Considering the Knicks' title aspirations, adding veterans with that type of experience is helpful.

Why the Knicks would not do this deal: They can probably get Love on a buyout and reduced salary rather than needing to trade for him. Furthermore, they are giving up their first-round pick in 2026, which is risky considering the strength of this year's draft class.

Why the Jazz would do this deal: Even though he isn't the healthiest player, Mitchell Robinson is still a quality defender who offers a lot as a rim protector. His offensive game is very limited, but the Jazz just need a capable starting center who can cover up for Fillipowski's flaws on defense. If it doesn't work, Robinson's contract expires at the end of the season and Utah will not have their long-term flexibility impacted. Dadiet is an intriguing development swing and has the physical tools at 6'7 to be a solid wing at the NBA level. They also get another first-round pick in a loaded 2026 draft and that extra ammo could be useful if the Jazz want to trade up for any of the superstar prospects at the top of the draft, like AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson or Mikel Brown Jr.

Why the Jazz would not do this deal: That 2026 first-round pick likely won't be particularly high and they can likely hammer out a long-term deal with Kessler that keeps him attached to the team as the complement to Fillipowski.