Reacting To The Worst Possible Utah Jazz Mock Trade For Donovan Mitchell
By Nathan Smith
The Utah Jazz trade talks surrounding Donovan Mitchell have ramped up over the past few days, with the Knicks and their wealth of moveable first-round picks still being the favourite, but it seems like half the league has been ‘interested’ in Spida as of late. A lot of mock trades are out there surrounding these teams, and while a lot of them are good for both sides, there are some that just make you scratch your head, and that’s what we saw today in Bleacher Reports latest three team mock deal for Donovan Mitchell.
Firstly, this is an absolute steal for Charlotte, who would get rid of the salary of Hayward, the drama of Washington and just four first-round picks to acquire Mitchell and pair him with LaMelo Ball. Not only is that unrealistic in itself, but the Utah Jazz would come out of this trade with just three first-round picks, which is already less than Utah have been offered, and with the rumours that Danny Ainge is chasing as many high value draft picks as possible, this makes absolutely no sense. Beyond that, the Nets get Hayward, who doesn’t fit this team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, as opposed to Ben Simmons who, if healthy and motivated, could be this teams best defender and rim runner in the starting lineup.
Sure, the Knicks potential offer may have been low, but if the other offers out there include an unmotivated Simmons, an unproven PJ Washington and less picks then Utah have already been offered, then Danny Ainge would be better off trying to negotiate with New York to add an extra unprotected pick and an extra young player, or simply keeping Mitchell, because this is nowhere near acceptable.
So what do you think? Would you like this pick for the Jazz? What do you think they can get from the Knicks instead? Do you think a Spida deal goes down soon? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.