Why Knicks Could Get Another Chance at Donovan Mitchell Trade

An ESPN NBA insider believes there's no chance that Donovan Mitchell extends his stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving the New York Knicks a chance to make up for lost time.

Yogi Berra once took note of the phenomenon of "deja vu all over again." His fellow New Yorkers may soon get to deal with it firsthand.

Much like last summer, the New York Knicks' rumor mill may soon deal with an influx of Donovan Mitchell gossip. Mitchell, a New York State native and former Utah Jazz superstar, was long-rumored to be en route to Manhattan but was eventually traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

But intel from ESPN NBA insider Tim Bontemps hints that Mitchell might not be planning to get comfortable.

“I don’t think there's any chance he signs an extension there ever,” Bontemps said during an appearance on "The Hoop Collective." “If it was up to me, I would trade Donovan Mitchell today, because I don’t see the Cavs are getting as far as they hope to next year, I don’t think he’s going to extend and I think they’ll get a lot more for him with two summers left than they would with one summer left.” 

Mitchell carries a cap hit of over $68.5 million over the next two seasons before a $37 million player option for the 2025-26 campaign. Cleveland mortgaged a good bit of its future to acquire Mitchell's services but failed to make much headway on the Eastern Conference postseason bracket: Mitchell averaged a career-best 28.3 points last season but the Cavs struggled to compete among the East's finest, placing fourth en route to a five-game postseason defeat at the hands of the Knicks themselves.

Unlike Cleveland, the Knicks resisted the instant gratification of Mitchell, opting to keep its plethora of young talent. Any deal with Utah management, led by Danny Ainge, would've likely required the Knicks to deal young projects like RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes to Salt Lake City. Barrett was instead granted a nine-figure contract extension while Grimes became a starting five staple at shooting guard.

Even with Mitchell's fate seemingly set, that hasn't stopped speculation from flowing. Mitchell's connections to the Empire State alone keeps the supposed dream alive but the Elmsford native himself spun the mill when he was highly complementary of the Knicks' game day atmosphere during the postseason. New York won both games at Madison Square Garden en route to the Cavs' five-game elimination, 

“For Game 3 when we came out…the noise, the fans, when they did the anthem ... That (stuff) was crazy," Mitchell said during an appearance on the "Run Your Race" podcast earlier this summer. "I was like ‘Damn, this (stuff) is jumping,' like I was geeked."

With Mitchell potentially dissatisfied with his Cleveland comforts, the Knicks have an unusual chance to rebound on a missed trade opportunity. Only time will tell if they pull it back in.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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