Jazz Seeking Four Unprotected Picks For Donovan Mitchell

It’s been said the Jazz aren’t close to any trade involving Donovan Mitchell, and perhaps we know why. Their asking price remains sky-high.

Per Marc Berman of the New York Post, along with young talent, the Jazz are seeking four unprotected picks in a Mitchell deal.

They have held extensive talks with the Knicks lately, though those talks may now be dead — as the Knicks are finalizing a four-year contract extension with RJ Barrett, agent Bill Duffy told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Barrett was an expected centerpiece to a Mitchell trade.

Along with that, a sticking point in talks appears to be that the Knicks were willing to surrender just two unprotected picks, with three conditional picks, Berman reported.

While talks between the Jazz and Knicks may be dead for now, they could be revived between now and the start of training camp next month, Wojnarowski reported. But it could also mean that the Jazz find another suitor or just bring Mitchell back, a scenario with which he himself is reportedly fine.

“Once the Knicks committed to Barrett’s extension, management became resigned to the fact that there’s a much more difficult path to an offseason deal to acquire Mitchell,” Wojnarowski wrote. “Nevertheless, neither Utah nor New York is ruling out restarting the talks before the start of training camps in late September, sources said.”

Mitchell, 25, is 6-foot-1 and has spent his entire career with the Jazz. He averaged 25.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 67 games last season. While the Jazz are open to keeping him, it seems a trade for a boatload of assets — and particularly unprotected picks — is their preference.