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The Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Utah Jazz have discussed a potential three-team deal that would send Donovan Mitchell to the Big Apple and Russell Westbrook to Utah, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The Lakers would be getting Patrick Beverley and another key Jazz player, presumably either Mike Conley or Bojan Bogdanovic.
Sources: The Lakers, Knicks and Jazz discussed a three-team trade with Donovan Mitchell landing in New York, Patrick Beverley and another key Jazz player to the Lakers, Russell Westbrook on the move, and draft picks to Utah. More details on @hoopshype. https://t.co/AejGhQPKVK
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) August 5, 2022
The Jazz would also be getting heavily compensated with draft picks from both New York and LA, so this does fit their new rebuilding timeline. Mitchell gets to go to what was likely his preferred destination, while the Lakers also get to unload Westbrook for two impactful rotation players. It seems like this deal would work for every party involved.
The big loser if this deal happened would be Kyrie Irving, who has reportedly made going to the Lakers his “top priority” either during the season or in free agency next summer. Irving had the chance to join LA this year but would’ve had to sacrifice about $30 million in salary to do so.