The Donovan Mitchell and New York Knicks connection is seemingly a never-ending saga, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst shuts down the possibility of the two sides joining forces in the future.
“I don’t know if the Donovan Mitchell Knicks thing is really still a possibility,” said Windhorst on ESPN’s First Take (h/t Cavaliers Nation). “I guess it is because he can be a free agent in a year. I don’t know how Donovan feels. I don’t know how he feels, but I gotta imagine as a kid from New York who wanted to play for the Knicks in 2022, that’s where he wanted to get traded.”
Mitchell and the Knicks have been linked in the media for a while
Before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fall of 2022, many were certain that Mitchell was going to become a member of the Knicks, including himself.
Being that the All-Star is a New York native, the idea of Mitchell donning orange and blue every night seems like a match made in heaven, but it’s all been purely speculative up to this point.
The rumors picked up steam earlier this season when the Cavaliers lost Evan Mobley and Darius Garland to lengthy injuries, but now they are back and Mitchell’s dominance led them to a very successful January and February that has them currently second in the Eastern Conference, putting an end to such rumors.
The Knicks acquired depth this season instead of a superstar
The Knicks took a different route with their trade strategies this season, going for stronger depth pieces to fortify a roster around their two All-Stars, Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, as opposed to acquiring a league-altering superstar talent such as Mitchell.
When healthy, New York has shown to be a dominant force against any opponent, but they have yet to see what their best possible playoff lineup would look like thanks to injuries from Randle and OG Anunoby.
Could a playoff rematch re-ignite Mitchell to the Knicks rumors?
There is still a lot of basketball left to be played this season, but a potential playoff rematch between the Knicks and Cavaliers could re-ignite the discussion around Mitchell coming to New York one day. However, it seems as though it will continue to be nothing more than baseless rumors until Mitchell hits free agency.
For now, the Knicks and Cavaliers will focus on the rosters they have now and compete with their main cores in a tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race.
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