The Utah Jazz traded away All-Star center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Interested teams, sensing a rebuild in Salt Lake City, inquired about the availability of Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell. They were told to back off.

But it was just GM speak. The phone lines were back open in short order. Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, who blew up and rebuilt the Boston Celtics into a championship team, appears to be readying the Jazz on a similar trajectory. 

Mitchell has averaged 26 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists over the last two seasons and has three years left on his contract.

Donovan Mitchell Next Team Odds

Bookies.com NBA handicapper Adam Thompson has revealed his projected NBA futures odds for Donovan Mitchell’s next team. Will he stay in Utah? Or could a move to New York be on the cards for the Elmsford, NY native?

Odds are for entertainment purposes only and do not reflect odds that may be available on betting sites and betting apps.

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Nearly every team could find a spot in the rotation for Mitchell, a Western Conference All-Star three years running. It’s a matter of which teams have the assets to offer Utah and make a run at a higher level of success. 

The Jazz are saying the right things regarding their star, but everything around them says they’re looking to move him. In addition to trading away Gobert, they traded away Royce O’Neal, one of Mitchell’s best friends on the team, and didn’t extend an offer to his other close friend, Eric Paschall. Also, Quin Snyder resigned, and he was another reason Mitchell wanted to remain in Utah in the first place. 

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The New York Knicks recently signed Jalen Brunson away from the Mavericks, but have made it pretty clear their interest in Mitchell and all the connections are there to make it happen. The feeling is probably mutual. Mitchell is a New York-area native and Knicks brass even made the trip to Utah’s opening playoff game this year, and made sure everyone knew about it. 

More important for the Jazz: New York has a whopping eight first-round draft picks in its cache. If the Knicks want to pair RJ Barrett and Mitchell and finally make a run at relevance for the first time in decades, they can. That's why they are our NBA betting frontrunners for Mitchell at this moment in time.

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The Miami Heat don’t have that kind of trade capital, but they do have Tyler Herro and up to three first-rounders, in addition to other available players. They’ve also made it clear they’re very interested in pairing Mitchell and Jimmy Butler together. That could push them over the Milwaukee Bucks or any other team as Eastern Conference favorites. 

The Washington Wizards have their cornerstone in Bradley Beal, but seek a viable No. 2 to take the load off. The Charlotte Hornets have a point guard of the future in All-Star LaMelo Ball, so Mitchell might be the Batman to Ball's Robin. The Wizards and Hornets have reportedly shown interest and are legit dark horses in the field. 

The Los Angeles Lakers would need a third team to get into the mix, but Russell Westbrook clearly isn't their top choice to lead the backcourt and they are in every trade conversation until a replacement is found.