Lakers likely to Be involved In A Donovan Mitchell deal with the Utah Jazz

The Donovan Mitchell trade saga seems never ending at this point, but with several teams withdrawing their interest from Mitchell after seeing the asking price, it’s becoming more and more likely that the Utah Jazz and New York Knicks are going to become trade partners. According to NBA Insider Marc Stein, if a deal between the two sides were to come to fruition, the Los Angeles Lakers would ‘somehow’ become involved, whether that means unloading Russell Westbrook’s salary or adding another pick to the deal for one of the Knicks players, or potentially both.

The Lakers and the Jazz just came together on a deal to send Patrick Beverley to Los Angeles in exchange for Stanley Johnson and Talen Horton-Tucker, and given Utah’s desire to acquire more picks, this may be a way to get the picks they want, without them all having to come from the Knicks. For New York, this likely means giving up someone like Julius Randle or Cam Reddish to the Lakers in exchange for them sending a pick or two to Utah, but at this point, it’s hard to work out the details.

New York president Leon Rose and Danny Ainge have been in talks for a while now, and as the two can’t seem to come to terms on a deal between themselves, involving the Lakers, a team looking to shed Westbrook’s salary and add pieces to help this team to the playoffs could be the best play for both sides involved. It’s been a stalemate for weeks now, but it’s clear that Utah are motivated to get as many picks as possible, and with two unprotected firsts in the Lakers possession, they could play a big part in getting this deal done.

So what do you think? Do you see a three team deal happening here? What would you want in return from both teams? As always, let us know all your thoughts in the comments.