New York Knicks 2022 Trade Offer to Utah Jazz for Donovan Mitchell Revealed

The Donovan Mitchell trade in 2022 shook the NBA. It signified one team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, telling the league they're ready to compete in the post-LeBron era. Meanwhile, it also signified that another team, the Utah Jazz, was set for a rebuild after moving on from their superstar.

Four years removed from that blockbuster transaction, the Cavs find themselves on the brink of an Eastern Conference Finals sweep, and the Jazz find themselves prepping for a new era. With rumors of Spida being trade-block bound, the trade, in the long run, may have favored Utah. However, if Cleveland had not traded for the former first-round pick, the New York Knicks were primed to pull the trigger, and the makeup of both teams would’ve been drastically different as a result. 

Polymarket Hoops reported that “in the summer of 2022, before Donovan Mitchell was traded to Cleveland, the Knicks were the frontrunners to trade for him.” 

According to Polymarket, if that trade had happened, the Jazz would’ve received RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, Mitchell Robinson and three first-round picks. Instead, Utah viewed Cleveland’s offer as more substantial, and in turn, they received Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, a 2025 first-round pick, a 2026 pick swap, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 pick swap and a 2029 first-round pick.

While Markkanen is the only player from that haul who is still with the team, Agbaji and Sexton, alongside the picks, have helped put the Jazz in the enviable situation they find themselves in today. Looking at the Knicks potential offer, only Mitchell Robinson is still with the franchise, and the picks, considering their consistency as Eastern Conference competitors, wouldn’t have been franchise-altering. 

In hindsight, the Jazz made the right call, especially considering Markkanen's contributions. But, if they had decided to ship Mitchell off to his preferred destination at the time, an RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin and Mitchell Robinson trio in the Delta Center would’ve been an intriguing situation. 

Since 2022, Barrett has averaged right around 20 points per game while hovering near 50% shooting from the field. Toppin on the other hand, has averaged around 10 points per game while shooting at around 53% from the field since 2022. Finally, Mitchell Robinson has averaged roughly 5 points per game and 8 rebounds per game while converting on an average of 65% of his shots since 2022. 

Those stats don’t tell the whole story, but it’s no secret that those players would’ve been a positive addition to the Jazz, and it may have even worked out better for Mitchell, considering he would be going to the NBA Finals this year.