Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell remains available on the trade block. The New York Knicks have long been pegged the favorite to acquire the three-time All-Star in a trade, but talks have slowed. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, other teams have expressed interest in Mitchell, including the Washington Wizards.
“Along with New York, several other teams have expressed interest to the Jazz when it comes to Mitchell, such as Washington, Miami, Toronto, Charlotte, Sacramento and Atlanta, according to sources.”
Surely, any deal would be to pair Mitchell with the Wizards cornerstone player Bradley Beal. Beal just signed a five-year, $251 million super max contract to remain in Washington.
The Wizards being involved in talks may surprise some and it may not. General manager Tommy Sheppard has proven he is not afraid of making a groundbreaking trade to improve his team. He traded John Wall for Russell Westbrook just as Wall was coming back from missing nearly two seasons with an Achilles injury. Then he traded Westbrook a year later to the Los Angeles Lakers for a nice haul. And last season moved Spencer Dinwiddie and others to eventually land Kristaps Porzingis.
The Wizards are also considered a dark horse in the Kevin Durant trade sweepstakes. Acquiring Mitchell may be even more difficult than Durant. Mitchell is 25 years young and entering the second season of a five-year, $163 million deal. Not to mention Jazz CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge is known for raising the bar in trade packages.
Earlier this month, the Jazz traded three-time Defensive Player of the Year center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for four first-round draft picks, a first-round pick swap in 2026 and five players, including the draft rights of first-round pick Walker Kessler.
The Jazz presumably will use the Gobert trade as a framework for a Mitchell trade. The Wizards have their first-round pick from 2023-2026 tied up in draft protections for the aforementioned Wall-Westbrook trade to the Houston Rockets.
The earliest first-round pick the Wizards could offer is for 2027. Even then, the Wizards wouldn’t be able to offer more than three first-round picks, as teams can only trade draft picks for up to seven years.
But never say never. The NBA has ways of making whacky trades that involve three, four even five teams or more. It’s clear Sheppard is at least throwing the Wizards in the ring for big names such as Mitchell and Durant. Maybe, he may just pull it off.
