Rumor: Donovan Mitchell would be interested in Knicks, Heat, Hawks if requesting trade

The Jazz don’t want to trade Donovan Mitchell.

Despite rumors about him requesting a trade and Knicks interest, Mitchell holds only so much power. He’s locked into his super-max contract another three years. Even if he demands a trade – far from a certainty – Mitchell can’t necessarily choose his destination.

So, it helps he’s open to more than only New York.

Brett Siegel of Sports Illustrated:

Should the opportunity come his way, Donovan Mitchell is not opposed to the idea of playing for the New York Knicks one day, sources say, but he is not the biggest fan of Knicks’ owner James Dolan.

Almost every team in the league would show trade interest in Mitchell if he was to request a trade out of Utah, but the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks are two other teams besides the Knicks that Mitchell would have interest in, sources familiar with the Jazz guard noted.

The Heat just unlocked the ability to trade another first-round pick. They have a highly coveted young player (Tyler Herro) and expensive superfluous player who could be used for salary matching (Duncan Robinson).

The Hawks have numerous assets and an appetite for a shakeup. A Trae Young-Mitchell backcourt would be incredibly talented (and woeful defensively).

Though Mitchell can’t control where Utah trades him, stars – even while under contract – hold significant sway into where they land. So, it’s worth at least paying attention to these preferred-destination lists.