Donovan Mitchell-Knicks speculation is ‘never going to go away’: Josh Hart
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CLEVELAND — Unless he signs an extension with the Cavaliers — or until he’s traded elsewhere — Donovan Mitchell will be linked to the Knicks as a trade target.
It’s the nature of the circumstances.
He’s a native New Yorker who was chased by the Knicks last year in failed trade negotiations and, as sources stated, remains on team president Leon Rose’s radar.
Josh Hart, who is close to Mitchell, understands.
“Those are never going to go away,” Hart said. “He’s from New York. New York is never going to let that go away. So you’ll never know what happens. That’s for the future, that’s for Knicks Twitter to talk about, and have rumors about, and put up stats of God knows what. But everyone knows that will be an underlying thing.”
Still, Hart believes the connection is sometimes overhyped or misunderstood.
Like, for instance, any insinuations drawn from Mitchell throwing out the first pitch of a Mets game.
“Well yeah, his dad works for the Mets,” Hart said. “That’s the thing — people love to make their own narrative. People don’t know the behind-the-scenes things, stuff. Throw out the first pitch at the Mets game and people say, ‘He loves New York, wants to go to New York.’ Don’t know that his dad works for the Mets for 20 years or he’s from New York. You always have so many underlying things where people have no idea, they see just one photo and see something and just run with it.”
Of course, Mitchell could’ve ended the discussion by signing an extension with the Cavaliers in the summer.
Instead, the 27-year-old Elmsford native declined, kept his options open, and can become a free agent in 2026.
He can also sign an extension with the Cavaliers next summer.
RJ Barrett, who was dangled in trade negotiations for Mitchell last year, wasn’t interested in the discussion.
“It don’t got nothing to do with me,” he said.
It’s still the first week of the season and the Knicks are preparing for their second back-to-back with travel in between games.
“Guess we made somebody mad,” Hart said. “It is what it is. We got the schedule we got.”
The team didn’t handle the first set well, succumbing easily in Saturday’s 96-87 defeat in New Orleans — which followed a victory the night prior in Atlanta. For this set, there’s at least equal footing with the opponent.
The Knicks and Cavaliers play each other Tuesday in Cleveland, then Wednesday at the Garden.
“We got to make the best of it,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “The good part is you’re playing the same team. You look at it that way. So whatever positives to take out of it, that’s what you do.”
Still, the Knicks are relatively healthy and don’t rest players.
Barrett’s knee — which he tweaked in the opener against Boston — has been a small issue.
“Day-to-day, whatever,” he said. “But I think something that at this point kind of everybody in the league is going through the same thing. Back-to-backs, all the playing and stuff. Just got to be mentally tough through it.”
Jarrett Allen (bruised ankle) and Darius Garland (hamstring strain) were ruled out of Tuesday’s game, according to the injury report.
Allen has yet to play this season and Garland missed the past two games.
Mitchell (hamstring strain) participated in Monday’s practice and is listed as questionable.
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