Josh Hart: New York Knicks, Donovan Mitchell Trade Rumors Will 'Never Go Away'

The New York Knicks have been linked to Donovan Mitchell for about a year now, and there are no signs of that going away anytime soon.

Whenever there were talks of Donovan Mitchell moving on from the Utah Jazz, the New York Knicks were almost always mentioned. As a New York native and client of the Creative Artists Agency (the former dwelling of Knicks president Leon Rose), Mitchell and the Knicks seemed to be a match made in hardwood heaven.

But last summer's trade talks fizzled as the Knicks were not willing to match the asking price of Jazz management led by Danny Ainge. The Cleveland Cavaliers eventually fulfilled those demands to the tune of three first-round picks and two pick-swaps, as well as young veterans like Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton.

Every matchup between the Knicks and the Cavs, such as this week's home-and-home that concludes on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG), in the immediate future will be headlined by Mitchell. Knicks forward Josh Hart acknowledged the Mitchell rumors following the series around in a report from Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

Hart (in blue) fights Mitchell for the ball during last year's playoffs / Ken Blaze, USA TODAY SPORTS

“Those (rumors) are never going to go away,” Hart said. “He’s from New York. New York is never going to let that go away. So you’ll never know what happens. That’s for the future, that’s for Knicks Twitter to talk about, and have rumors about, and put up stats of God knows what. But everyone knows that will be an underlying thing.”

In Cleveland, Mitchell proved to be well worth the price, as he averaged a career-high 28.3 points and helped guide the Cavs to their first playoff appearance without LeBron James on the roster in 25 years. The Knicks, however, had the last laugh, at least for the time being, by downing Cleveland in five games in the opening round. That trend continued on Tuesday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, which saw the Knicks earn a 109-91 victory with several Cleveland contributors sitting out. 

The Mitchell rumor mill might be ready to re-open: Mitchell is back repping the Cavs but did not sign a long-term extension over the summer, which could give the Knicks a chance to re-negotiate. 

In the meantime, however, the Knicks (2-2) have a chance to build some early momentum with a sweep of Mitchell's Cavs on Wednesday night, which will host his only visit to MSG this season. Mitchell led all scorers with 26 points in defeat on Tuesday.