Kevin Durant’s situation is holding back the NBA low season right now. Deandre Ayton remains unmarked and the Suns desperately want KD. The Pacers and Spurs still have room for the cover and could be future homes for Ayton or others. The Lakers still have Russell Westbrook and his future cousins, and they want Kyrie Irving. What do all these teams have in common? They all need a Durant resolution before their issues can be resolved. And now, Donovan Mitchell is back in the news after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that the Jazz are now willing to listen to commercial offers for their All-Star guard.
Around July 1, when Rudy Gobert was handed over to Minnesota, league executives mentioned three teams interested in Mitchell: the Heat, the Knicks, and the Nets. In the weeks that followed, speculation about Mitchell’s future and where he might go next has increased.
Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday that the Heat have made offers for Mitchell, but none have met Utah’s demands for at least one great young player and a draft pick-up war chest. The Heat continue to chase Durant, but Mitchell is considered an alternative if the Heat can’t land him.
Bringing Durant to Miami would be tricky, though. The Nets would probably want Bam Adebayo. But they already have Ben Simmons, and NBA rules prevent a team from changing for more than one player who has signed a designated rookie maximum extension. This is the deal Simmons signed with Philadelphia and Adebayo with Miami, so at least a third team would probably be required on a KD stage in Miami, with that team taking on Simmons. That means Miami would even give up Adebayo, a 24-year-old defensive player candidate of the year, for Durant, 33. There may not be an agreement, and the Heat could turn their attention to Mitchell.
It’s a similar situation for the Nets in their search for Mitchell, as he signed the same type of rookie max with Utah. If the Nets acquire Mitchell, Simmons would have to be sent back to the Jazz or another team. But Brooklyn’s interest is also intriguing because to make a strong bid for Mitchell, the Nets would probably have to include a portion of the transportation they receive for Durant or Irving.
Woj has long reported that the Nets want “one of the highest commercial returns in league history” for Durant. Maybe there is a mega trade that satisfies them. There’s no reason for the Nets to hit rock bottom, as they don’t own most of their future first-round picks. In Mitchell, the Nets could block the Knicks from acquiring a star while giving them a young foundation piece to build. Mitchell will only be 26 next season and has three years left on his contract.
Utah could also use Brooklyn interest to raise the price in the bidding war for Mitchell. The Knicks have been the team most closely linked to the Jazz Guard, and with 11 first-round picks from 2023 to 2029, they are equipped with enough assets to make a competitive bid. Since many of their first entrants come with protections, they devalue compared to the first ones without protection. But if the Knicks want to, they can probably put the strongest bid on the table with some combination of choices and young players.
It’s unclear which players should send New York to Utah in a move for Mitchell, but Evan Fournier would be a realistic salary filler to make the deal financially matched (though the Knicks would still have to return more money). I can’t imagine the Knicks would give up on RJ Barrett, but some combination of Obi Toppin, Cam Reddish, Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes would probably go to Utah, depending on the amount of draft picks.
After the Knicks signed another 6-foot 1 guard to Jalen Brunson this offseason, it could be argued that they should move on to Mitchell. Having a small ground guard is a big enough problem for playoff teams, no matter the two. A few months ago, Brunson and Mitchell were losing 30 points on top of each other. Who would they stop on defense if they shared the court? Again, there may not be a better opportunity for New York to incorporate superstar talent. A change could be made to the line to cope with the awkward adjustment of the rear track. And when was the last time a star wanted to play in New York? The temptation of the Knicks brass might be too strong.
The Knicks should keep Barrett, but otherwise, put everything to Mitchell and find out the rest later. But it will be expensive. An agreement is not a certainty here, although the Jazz are now open, no doubt, as they were with Gobert, who received a top five plus a selection exchange, bringing the Jazz to a total of 12 future futures. The price asked for by Mitchell is so huge that changing it could bring Jazz to the top spots in the league in early elections, beating the Thunder (17) and the Pelicans (13).
But is there a time when a team may have too many options? Having a lot of choices does not always guarantee future success. It offers you options, but after reaching a selection-based deal for Gobert, perhaps prioritizing the player to come back above the election would be the right path for a Mitchell trade.
Simmons and some collection of selections could have a lot of appeal. Utah is clearly rebuilding and a low pressure situation could be a good way for Simmons to get back on track. Also, it’s probably not big enough to prevent them from having a high chance of landing Victor Wembanyama, a 7-foot-3 French center who is the headliner in the 2023 NBA Draft. is represented by Bouna Ndiaye, who is also Gobert’s agent.
Other organizations armed with many draft options or contenders looking to bolster their postseason odds could also bet on Simmons. Let’s take a team like the Hawks, for example. They have a valuable player who have tried to move on John Collins, and with two bases on Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, Simmons could be a perfect driving piece with his play, size and defense.
Simmons has not played for a long time, and his future will be in doubt until he proves himself on the court again. But he is an All-NBA caliber player and will only be 26 next season. The Nets should be perfectly happy to keep it and see what they could build. But he is certainly not an untouchable player. If the Nets decide they want Mitchell and want to move Simmons, it still has value despite his tough year.
The Nets should drag all this as far as they can in the hope that Durant will give in and decide to return. None of these ideas or players guide Brooklyn toward a better championship path than its current roster, with Durant, Irving and Simmons. In addition, the Nets strengthened their depth by adding two wings to Royce O’Neale and TJ Warren, while re-signing Patty Mills, Kessler Edwards and Nic Claxton. On paper, the Nets have a high-powered offense with great versatility on defense. If Simmons accepts his role and if Durant and Irving stay healthy, that team can fight.
For as long as he could always consider returning to Brooklyn with Irving and Simmons, at least to give the franchise another chance. If Brooklyn fails, he could come out mid-season, when he would have a better idea of his favorite homes.
Teams from across the league gather in Las Vegas, but there are so many potential moving pieces that this saga could drag on until the summer. With so many important names involved and so many teams with a strong desire to end a trade, something important is bound to happen. Finally.
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