Utah Jazz: Which team has the best chance of landing Donovan Mitchell?
By Nathan Smith
The Donovan Mitchell trade saga has been rolling on for weeks now, and while it still seems likely that Spida is on the move, some new teams have emerged in recent days in the sweepstakes for No. 45. While it’s possible that the Utah Jazz hold onto their All-Star until the 2022/23 trade deadline, it still seems most likely that the No. 14 overall pick from the 2018 NBA Draft will be on the move before the start of the upcoming campaign.
The New York Knicks still seem to be the leading candidate to land their home-town kid, but over the past few days, negotiations between the two franchises have seemingly stalled. Yesterday however, a list of teams targeting Mitchell emerged, and if the reported interest is genuine, the trade may be dragged out for weeks to come, with plenty of new suitors entering the fray.
Donovan Mitchell is no doubt a game changed for any of the franchises named, but only one team will land the services of such an elite scorer and clutch playoff performer. So where exactly will Spida land?
7. Could the Utah Jazz deal with the Atlanta Hawks?
The Atlanta Hawks were part of the teams interested in Mitchell and checked in with the Jazz on a potential deal, but for a number of reasons, it just makes little to no sense. Given that the Hawks just traded three first round picks to San Antonio for Dejonte Murray, they simply don’t have the assets to go after Mitchell, especially given the desires of Danny Ainge in a trade, which seems to be maximizing the return of draft capital.
There is a way for Atlanta to involve another team in this trade to give Utah the draft picks they desire, but with that idea comes the second problem for Atlanta. With Trae Young and Murray already pencilled in as the teams starting backcourt, adding a third All-Star caliber guard seems like an attractive idea, but it just wouldn’t make sense. There’s potentially a way for Atlanta to make that work, but given the lack of height that the starting lineup would then feature, just wouldn’t be a good thing for a team looking to take the next step in a very tough Eastern Conference.
Ultimately, Atlanta may have interest in Mitchell, but given their lack of resources and the way that he would fit on this Hawks team, there’s just no way that a deal will get done here.