This offseason has largely been defined by the New York teams and the superstar trades that aren't happening. For the Brooklyn Nets, it's the will they, won't they with their two All-Stars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. For the New York Knicks, it's their fervent pursuit of Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.
There are rumors that the Nets are simply riding out the trade season in hopes to keep Kevin Durant anyways. The Jazz are surely more motivated to move Donovan Mitchell given that the other shoe already dropped with Rudy Gobert getting sent to Minnesota
But despite the constant chatter and reports indicating that the teams had been in serious talks, which have since fizzled out, the latest indicates that there's a good chance nothing happens anytime soon. That could mean later on in the offseason, or potentially after the turn of the calendar year.
Via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype:
The sense I get right now is it’s probably not going to happen on an imminent level. The two sides aren’t close. To me, I think if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen closer to training camp or the start of the season. If it doesn’t happen then, we’ll see what happens closer to the February trade deadline. It’s one of the reasons why the Jazz haven’t made a lot of moves around their roster. Mitchell is a domino that has to be taken care of one way or the other. If the Jazz trade Mitchell, then it’s going to make sense to go younger. Then, I’d expect more moves on top of that.
There are a ton of variables that could complicate things if the Jazz and Knicks postpone trade talks on both sides of the table. For the Knicks, they'd be just as motivated if they struggle out of the gate next season but a hot start with their young pieces showing out could complicate their decision-making process. Perhaps Jalen Brunson excels as the lead guard and guys like Miles McBride, Quentin Grimes, and Obi Toppin – names being rumored to be going to Utah in a potential trade – break out.
For the Jazz, they could find themselves in an addition by subtraction scenario just like what happened with Luka Doncic after the Dallas Mavericks got ride of Kristaps Porzingis. While all four are completely different players, it's not unrealistic for Mitchell to thrive with the addition spacing and would therefore open the door for Utah to instead retool around him.
The longer this goes, the messier it gets. But it sure looks like that's where things are headed.
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