Donovan Mitchell Trade: Wizards, Hornets Real Competition for Knicks?

New teams have reportedly entered the Donovan Mitchell trade sweepstakes, but this could simply be a leverage play by the Utah Jazz.

After going nearly a month without any meaningful updates on the Donovan Mitchell trade saga, that silence was broken on Tuesday, as the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz reportedly “re-engaged” on trade talks sometime in the last week.

However, just because both sides are talking again doesn’t necessarily mean a deal will get done anytime soon … and we can apparently add a couple other teams into the mix now as well.

“There is no traction between the two teams on a deal, and no Mitchell trade is imminent for the Jazz, sources said. The Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards are also among the teams pursuing Mitchell, those sources said,” Shams Charania wrote.

Although it might be true that the Hornets and Wizards are trying to trade for Mitchell, this report has the overwhelming feel of being a leverage play by the Jazz.

One week ago, The Athletic reported that the Knicks apparently believe they’re in a one-team race for Mitchell.

“For now, the Knicks know no one is coming close to them,” Fred Katz's report reads. "The Jazz want more for Mitchell than they received in that gargantuan return for Rudy Gobert."

If the Knicks truly believe that — and they probably should, given that they possess the most attractive potential trade package for the Jazz — then we wouldn’t put it past Utah GM Danny Ainge to play the leverage card if he believes he’s getting lowballed.

So … do we believe the Knicks have real competition when it comes to the Wizards and Hornets entering the rumors? No, not really … but at the very least, it could create more urgency on New York’s end to get a deal done sooner than later.

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You can follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter at @dalton_trigg

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