donovan mitchell knicks
Ron Chenoy | USA TODAY Sports

It’s been quiet on the Donovan Mitchell-to-the-Knicks front. Very quiet.

But we have a small smidge of movement. The Jazz want a massive haul of draft picks, according to HoopsHype. The Knicks could make that happen, given they own eight first-round picks they have over the next seven years. But they do not want to sell the entire farm for Mitchell. So they reportedly tried to get the Lakers involved to soften the blow.

From HoopsHype:

The proposed three-team trade scenario included Westbrook going to Utah and getting bought out. Utah would send Donovan Mitchell to the Knicks, a combination of two players, including Patrick Beverley and Jordan Clarkson, Bojan Bogdanovic or Malik Beasley to the Lakers, and the Jazz would receive significant draft pick compensation from the Knicks and Lakers. The Knicks also would’ve had to part with veteran salary filler(s), such as Derrick Rose to help make the salaries work.

Some other potential wrinkles to a three-team deal: The Lakers are believed to have interest in Cam Reddish. And the Knicks might want to get Beasley themselves.

The Jazz are “seeking as many draft picks as possible and [aren’t] prioritizing win-now players,” according to the report. The Knicks have “been reluctant to give up a treasure chest of draft picks thus far, with trade talks stalling over the past few weeks.” That said, HoopsHype reports the Knicks remain “the presumptive favorite to land Mitchell should Utah ultimately trade him.”

Gut feeling: The deal gets done. The big selling point for the Knicks hiring Leon Rose and William “World Wide” Wesley was that they would leverage their relationships and rolodex to bring superstars to town. So far, they have failed to do that. Jalen Brunson is going to be a productive player, but he’s basically a family member. They need to make a splash. Mitchell is the splash.

James Kratch can be reached at [email protected]

James Kratch is the managing editor of ESNY. He previously worked as a Rutgers and Giants (and Mike Francesa) beat reporter for NJ Advance Media.