Knicks and Jazz have reportedly reengaged in Donovan Mitchell trade talks

It’s been more than a week since we were able to report any update on the Jazz-Knicks negotiations around a potential Donovan Mitchell trade. So it’s about time we get a spicy update to get us pumped up!

Reputed insider Shams Charania from The Atheltic reported on Tuesday ($) that the New York Knicks and the Utah Jazz have re-engaged in talks about a prospective trade of guard Donovan Mitchell, as always per league sources.

Charania shared an interesting bit of information that had gone under the radar for days by saying that sources are telling The Athletic that both franchises “had a fresh trade conversation within the past week about potential packages for Mitchell.” That’s news for everybody after negotiations seemed to have stalled coming out of July’s Summer League.

Our own Kenta Kato echoed the report from The Athletic’s Tony Jones about the Jazz not being interested in the inclusion of veteran Derrick Rose. Other than that it’d been all deafening silence on the talks between both franchises for nearly three weeks of time.

The report from Charania also made clear that two other franchises linked to Donovan Mitchell—the Charlotte Hornets and the Washington Wizards—are still in the run to land the guard via trade.

It makes sense for all of the teams interested in the New York native to reach an agreement with Utah as soon as possible, and it’d make even more sense for the Jazz to solve this conundrum in the next few days or weeks leading up to the training camps starting in late September, only over a month from now.

While Donovan Mitchell has not publicly demanded a trade and would be happy with either outcome—getting traded away or staying put in Salt Lake City for the time being—there is a clear rebuilding effort going on in Utah after the Rudy Gobert trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It’s hard to see Mitchell alone carrying the current Jazz to the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season, so it’s understood the two parties would be happy parting ways as long as they both can benefit. Mitchell would get to a stronger, contending team while Utah would replenish their coffers with a boatload of draft picks and players in return for its franchise player.

The clock's ticking for Utah to enter next season with a clear plan to start building the future of the franchise. New York, on the other hand, has no pressure to complete any trade and can let it drag over time for as much as they want, contrary to what some voices out there are fabricating and want you to believe. We’ll keep an eye on further developments that come out in the next few days as we approach the training camp portion of the offseason leading up to the first preseason game on Oct. 4.