Knicks to explore Julius Randle trade if they land Donovan Mitchell?

One league source advised me in Las Vegas to keep an eye on the Knicks and Lakers discussing a potential Westbrook deal if — IF — Leon Rose can successfully bring Donovan Mitchell to Madison Square Garden. The source’s thinking: After adding Mitchell, New York would be expected to explore scenarios to trade away Julius Randle. And Randle, just one season removed from his breakthrough to All-Star and All-NBA status, is presumably the sort of player that the Lakers would have to consider taking on if — IF — they are unable to use Westbrook’s $47.1 million expiring contract in a trade for Kyrie Irving.
Source: Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
After last year’s endless flood of meetings at LeBron’s house I demand to know who else he and AD have talked to on the phone. Show me the Donovan Mitchell call logs you cowards. – 7:04 PM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Report: Jazz talked Donovan Mitchell trades before dealing Rudy Gobert nba.nbcsports.com/2022/07/18/rep… – 4:00 PM Ian Begley @IanBegley
From earlier: my read on where Donovan Mitchell/NYK talks stood heading into the weekend (don’t think much has changed), including Jazz asking for package including RJ Barrett in earlier discussions with NYK, Knicks’ desire to land Mitchell & MIA looming: sny.tv/articles/donov… – 12:05 PM Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
7 PM ET tonight via @SpotifyLive: Blockbuster chat w/ @Tony Jones from the heart of the Donovan Mitchell trade chase to catch up on ALL the latest … plus some surprising Vegas scuttle about Tony’s own game. Join us: spotifylive.link/steinlinelive
More NBA: marcstein.substack.com – 11:57 AM Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
About to do @Get Up for the next two hours to talk about LeBron, KD, Donovan Mitchell and more. – 8:00 AM Steve Popper @StevePopper
Knicks Sunday column: Donovan Mitchell certainly would help Knicks, but is now the time to pay the cost? newsday.com/sports/columni… via @Newsday – 10:14 AM Steve Popper @StevePopper
And how’s this for timing…Donovan Mitchell thrills Cyclones’ crowd at Coney Island newsday.com/sports/basketb… via @Newsday – 7:47 PM Steve Popper @StevePopper
Knicks Sunday column: Donovan Mitchell certainly would help Knicks, but cost may be too high newsday.com/sports/columni… via @Newsday – 7:47 PM Fred Katz @FredKatz
Donovan Mitchell just threw out the first pitch at the Brooklyn Cyclones game and this young fan has been yelling at him to come to the Knicks ever since Mitchell walked onto the field: pic.twitter.com/967DKwOnWU – 5:53 PM Fred Katz @FredKatz
The Brooklyn Cyclones have welcomed in a left-handed line-drive hitter for the day: Donovan Mitchell, who’s throwing out the first pitch before the Mets’ high-A affiliate plays tonight.
Here he is taking batting practice: pic.twitter.com/JGiHsr2UKt – 4:07 PM Sarah Todd @NBASarah
Jazz Insiders newsletter: A Donovan Mitchell trade could change the way we view Summer League https://t.co/HZ7tgaSyCL pic.twitter.com/0uEILPRl5c – 12:16 PM Dave Early @DavidEarly
What team would Donovan Mitchell be headed to if he made it clear he would be equally happy to play for any team except Utah? – 12:04 PM Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Now on @njdotcom
NBA rumors: NBA insiders say Donovan Mitchell will ‘most likely’ land with the Knicks, but it may take a ‘historic haul’ nj.com/knicks/2022/07… – 11:49 AM Zach Lowe @ZachLowe_NBA
ICYMI Friday: Lowe Post podcast: @Tim MacMahon on the Donovan Mitchell trade landscape (hi, Knicks!), then @Kevin Pelton and react to the Ayton offer sheet drama — plus the impact of both on the KD landscape:
Spotify: spoti.fi/3PbDJNc
Apple: apple.co/3APmugc – 11:04 AM Barry Jackson @flasportsbuzz
From PM: Readers asked if Donovan Mitchell is really THAT much better than Tyler Herro, enough to justify giving away three 1st rounders, Herro and more. We explore: miamiherald.com/sports/spt-col… – 10:10 AM Ian Begley @IanBegley
From earlier: my read on where the Donovan Mitchell/Knicks talks stand heading into the weekend, including Jazz asking for a package including RJ Barrett earlier in their discussions with NYK, Knicks’ desire to land Mitchell & MIA looming: sny.tv/articles/donov… – 9:50 AM Jorge Sierra @hoopshype
How many of these things will happen before the start of the season?
KD out of Brooklyn
Donovan Mitchell in New York
Kyrie Irving with Lakers – 4:40 AM Rob Perez @WorldWideWob
The Knicks are going to run Grimes & McBride 35 minutes in the Summer League championship game on Sunday with the Donovan Mitchell trade still in limbo arent they – 2:20 AM Micah Adams @MicahAdams13
Donovan Mitchell is nowhere near good enough to give up six 1st round picks for.
Especially when then paired with another undersized guard.
Knicks are best case a poor man’s east coast Dame/CJ Blazers.
With no outs to get better.
Knicks gonna Knick. – 7:54 PM Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
The promised mailbag on the Donovan Mitchell situation:
When will a deal get done? What will the Jazz do next? What does Donovan’s “camp” want?
sltrib.com/sports/jazz/20… – 7:39 PM Bill Simmons @BillSimmons
But seriously… should the Knicks go all-in for Donovan Mitchell? pic.twitter.com/mZjgmdLFPR – 7:16 PM NBA Math @NBA_Math
🗣NEW @HardwoodKnocks
🔘 Deandre Ayton (2:02)
🔘 Durant, Suns, Heat, Raptors, Other teams (9:36)
🔘 Non-KD trades for Suns (24:51)
🔘 Pacers future (33:11)
🔘 Donovan Mitchell, RJ Barrett (48:28)
🎧 https://t.co/Im2urv9p2d
🍎 https://t.co/H0RrcbkgC3
https://t.co/VUiiR32SEn pic.twitter.com/5gBkzxKWvr – 6:46 PM Brady Hawk @BradyHawk305
The Donovan Mitchell hypothetical trades looking more and more like the Kevin Durant value trade rumors
No wonder there’s a laser focus on KD at the top of the list, aside from the obvious skill gap – 6:39 PM Jake Fischer @JakeLFischer
Today’s full episode of ‘Please Don’t Aggregate This’ is live now on @getcallin, Apple, Spotify and more.
Deep dives on Donovan Mitchell, Utah, New York, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, Indiana post-Ayton offer sheet, and a whole lot more: callin.com/link/zaKSJplwjr – 5:22 PM

More on this storyline

In order to complete a trade, the Jazz would need to acquire a larger salary back from the Knicks as well. Julius Randle, though, would likely not be that piece — Evan Fournier or Derrick Rose are more likely, a source said. -via Salt Lake Tribune / July 14, 2022 According to Knicks beat report Fred Katz of The Athletic, the front office has at least looked into it. In a recent episode of the Callin Shots podcast Katz confirmed that the team has been making the calls around the league for a potential Julius Randle trade. But he also affirmed that nothing is likely to happen in the coming offseason: “The Knicks have inquired with other teams about moving Julius Randle … I’m not optimistic, if you’re somebody who wants them to trade Randle, I wouldn’t predict that’s what happens this summer. We’re talking about like giving him away. Maybe if you take back a contract of equal value.” -via Clutch Points / June 29, 2022 New York Knicks forward Julius Randle had a rather shaky 2021-22 season, but by the looks of it, he’s gearing up well for a potential bounce-back campaign. On Twitter, a photo of Randle is going viral–and for good reason. The All-Star forward can be seen looking leaner and in better shape compared to the previous campaign, which is clear proof that he has put emphasis on getting his body stronger. -via Clutch Points / June 4, 2022 The perpetually title-or-bust Heat, not surprisingly, are all-in on scouring the league to try to manufacture extra first-round picks to boost their chances of completing a trade for Kevin Durant or Utah’s Donovan Mitchell. But more teams than not are asking themselves this question: If we trade for Durant, how long before he wants to go somewhere else? -via marcstein.substack.com / July 18, 2022 “I think the Knicks and the Jazz will reengage here at some point. Maybe it’s this week. Maybe it’s next week. Maybe it’s in two or three weeks. The Jazz are not necessarily going to move quickly. The Rudy Gobert talks… that was over a period of time this summer and once Minnesota stepped up with the package they did, that was an easy deal for the Jazz to do. -via RealGM / July 18, 2022 “New York is motivated. They’re motivated to get Donovan Mitchell, but I think they’re also motivated to not just give up everything to get him. They’ve got four of their own unprotected first round picks. Now, people talk about seven or eight picks. I think a lot of those picks are conditional protected picks that are coming from places like Detroit and Washington. I don’t think the Jazz value those the way they do New York’s unprotected picks.” -via RealGM / July 18, 2022