NBA Rumor Mill Continues to Link Jazz Star Donovan Mitchell to Knicks
For Utah Jazz fans, all eyes are on the brewing situation surrounding stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. The rumor mill has consistently cranked out buzz on a disconnect between the two All-Stars, dating back to the regular season.
Those rumors have only increased in intensity since the Jazz were bounced from the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks. We've heard that Gobert is ready to take on a "him or me" posture with the Jazz, relative to Mitchell.
We've also heard from both players that the rumors of any discord between them are unfounded. And yet, the leaks keep escaping Jazz HQ.
If the Jazz were to deal away Mitchell, where would he land? Deadspin's Lee Escobedo is linking Mitchell to the New York Knicks. Shocker.
Rumors of a Mitchell to Knicks trade went from a simmer to a full-blown blaze when Knicks executive William “World Wide” Wesley showed up with a front office contingency in Dallas for Game 1. If Utah is interested in disgruntled Knicks forward Julius Randle, it would be easier for the Knicks to add smaller salaries on top of Randle’s to make it work while also adding extensive draft capital and young players like Immanuel Quickly and Quentin Grimes to make it work. Mitchell grew up a Knicks fan leaving up just outside NYC in Elmsford, NY, and his parents still live and work in the area. Perhaps a return home would be welcomed.
Jazz fans have long agonized over the possibility of Mitchell wanting to pull up stakes and take his talents to the Big Apple to play for the team he grew up rooting for. Such an exodus East would fall in the line with Darren Williams' departure to the New Jersey Nets in 2011 and Gordon Hayward's defection to the Boston Celtics in 2017.
Here's to hoping Mitchell sticks around. The Jazz want him here but as a small-market club, this team will continue to struggle with big-market predators looking to exploit their roster.
It might not be as bad as MLB with small-market teams oftentimes serving as a farm system for the Goliaths. But it'll remain an obstacle for teams like the Jazz so long as NBA revenue splits are divvied up the way they are now.
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