Jazz All-Star getting a New York welcome Saturday
Donovan Mitchell has popped up this year at Rangers playoff games and at Citi Field to take batting practice with the Mets.
Even before a potential trade to the Knicks comes to fruition, the three-time NBA All-Star guard already is being honored this weekend with his first New Yorkbased bobblehead giveaway.
Mitchell, a Westchester County product whose father, Donovan Sr., is the Mets’ senior director of player relations, will be throwing out the first pitch Saturday before the Brooklyn Cyclones’ game in Coney Island. The first 2,000 fans in attendance also will receive a Mitchell bobblehead, according to the Single-A affiliate.
Might a similar promotional giveaway by the Knicks be in his future? It was revealed earlier this week that the Jazz are listening to offers for the 25-yearold Mitchell, and The Athletic reported the Knicks have emerged as a “focused destination.”
The Knicks control 11 firstround picks over the next seven years, so perhaps they could avoid including RJ Barrett in any deal by attaching several picks, with one or two prospects out of a group including Quentin Grimes, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish, Miles McBride and Jericho Sims.
Utah acquired four firstround draft picks, one pick swap and multiple players in trading All-Star center Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves earlier this month.
Mitchell has performed well on most of his visits to the Garden during his five seasons with the Jazz, including a 36-point performance to lead Utah to a 108-93 victory in March. He has played five games at the Garden during his NBA career, averaging 25.2 points and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 40.9 from 3-point range.
“It’s fun, just seeing friends and family, being able to do that, but also understanding that we have a job to do,” Mitchell said after the March game. “I think that’s what our focus was all day, understanding that if we can put ourselves in the right position for the playoffs, keeping the main thing the main thing regardless of what’s around.”
Mitchell’s former Louisville coach, Rick Pitino, who also coached the Knicks from 1987-89, praised Mitchell via Twitter on Thursday.
“Everyone asking me to weigh in on Donovan Mitchell trade rumors — all I can say is he’s all about winning and improving,” the current Iona coach tweeted. “Tremendous work ethic and is a 10 star person on a 5 star scale.”