The New York Knicks could still include RJ Barrett in a potential trade with the Utah Jazz for Donovan Mitchell, and their most recent best offer included him.

"I'm told through various sources that RJ Barrett could very well end up being in a potential deal," said Shams Charania. "And being offers depending on the framework of a deal.

"The Knicks have pursued Donovan Mitchell over the past month and a half. Their most recent offer, I'm told, included RJ Barrett as well as two unprotected first round picks. That was not deemed as being close to enough by the Utah Jazz in a trade. That was why we saw the Knicks move forward with their own business and getting done this RJ Barrett extension."

The New York Knicks are still "hopeful" that they can complete a trade for Donovan Mitchell without including RJ Barrett, sources told Marc Berman of the New York Post.

The source adds that the team would not have extended Barrett if they believed it would have ended trade possibilities.

The Jazz have prioritized acquiring unprotected picks in exchange for Mitchell.

The Lakers remain open to becoming the third team in a deal and are still interested in Cam Reddish.

Danny Ainge is reportedly eyeing the Lakers' 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. 

The Utah Jazz and New York Knicks had made progress on a Donovan Mitchell trade in recent days before RJ Barrett agreed to a four-year extension worth up to $120 million.

The Jazz are not seriously engaged on a Mitchell trade now with any other teams, which increases the possibility of him remaining on the roster for the start of training camp. Neither Utah nor New York is ruling out restarting the talks before the start of training camps in late September, sources said.

The Knicks and Jazz have been discussing a trade on and off since early July.

For Barrett to be included in a trade to the Jazz, the Knicks would need to find a third team with salary-cap space to redirect Evan Fournier. 

The Utah Jazz value unprotected picks more than the inclusion of RJ Barrett in a trade for Donovan Mitchell, sources told Marc Berman of the New York Post.

The news comes on the heels of Barrett agreeing to a four-year extension with the Knicks. Barrett is now subject to poison pill provisions.

Berman adds that not being able to trade for Barrett is not necessarily a deal-breaker for the Jazz. The team is reportedly looking for four unprotected picks from the Knicks, with New York offering just two unprotected along with three conditional picks.

The Jazz are also said to be interested in the Lakers' 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in a potential three-team deal for Mitchell. 

Leon Rose set a Monday deadline for the Utah Jazz to reach agreement with the New York Knicks on a Donovan Mitchell trade, otherwise he planned to move forward with a RJ Barrett extension.

Without a trade agreement in place with the Jazz, Rose and the Knicks followed through with the extension deal.

The Knicks and Jazz had closed the gap on a Mitchell trade in recent days, but neither side was prepared to go further before the deadline set by Rose.

Barrett could still be included in a deal for Mitchell, but is no subject to the Poison Pill provision. 

The New York Knicks are known to want to trade for Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. To this point, the Knicks haven't offered enough in trade to the Jazz for Mitchell. That's where the Los Angeles Lakers could come in.

The Lakers have insisted that they won't trade two first round picks simply to dump Russell Westbrook's salary. However, if Los Angeles can get a rotation upgrade in a Westbrook deal, they may be willing to include both their 2027 and 2029 first rounders in a trade.

Marc Stein reports that league sources say that could see the Lakers getting involved in a three-team deal with the Knicks and the Jazz. Utah could take on Westbrook's salary, along with several picks from both New York and Los Angeles, in exchange for routing veteran players to LA.

In an appearance on the STUpodity podcast, Shams Charania of The Athletic said that the Miami Heat never aggressively pursued Kevin Durant. Miami last spoke with the Brooklyn Nets about a trade before or during Summer League in mid-July.

The Heat were aware that to acquire Durant, they would have had to gut their roster. As Miami was the top seed in the Eastern Conference and made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, they didn't see a need to drastically alter their roster to add Durant.

The Heat would have had to trade several players to match salary in a trade for the Nets superstar. That would have left the team with little depth behind several veterans with lengthy injury histories.

Miami, along with the Phoenix Suns, were the teams Durant reportedly wanted to be traded to. The Suns ability to complete a trade waned after Deandre Ayton signed an offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers. That meant Ayton could no longer be used as a trade chip in talks for Durant.

The Utah Jazz and New York Knicks are widely expected to eventually agree to a Donovan Mitchell trade, but the two sides continue to haggle over the terms. The Jazz traded Patrick Beverley to the Los Angeles Lakers this week in what was their first major move after trading Rudy Gobert. While Utah still wants a high asking price, they appear to prefer a resolution before training camp.

"The Jazz are beginning their business," said Brian Windhorst on his podcast. "They made their first post-Gobert move earlier this week when they traded Patrick Beverley to the Lakers.

"[Tim] MacMahon, you said I believe last week that you thought that the Jazz would make a Donovan Mitchell trade before the [regular season] opener. And it sounds to me in talking to people around the league that the Jazz want to try to go even sooner than that. They want to go before training camp."

"Of course," said MacMahon.

The Jazz have a first-time head coach in Will Hardy while they would also like to be in the running to have the best odds in next year's draft.

"It does sound as I talk to folks in the league that the Jazz are trying to apply the gas here. To try to juice the offer, especially juice the offer from the New York Knicks."

The Cleveland Cavaliers have removed themselves from trade talks with the Utah Jazz  on Donovan Mitchell, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Cavaliers declared Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen as untouchable in any trade for Mitchell.

The Jazz and New York Knicks are widely expected to eventually reach agreement on a Mitchell trade, but appear to both be entrenched on their current offers.

Julius Randle turned in an outstanding 2020-21 season for the New York Knicks that saw him make both All-Star and All-NBA teams. Randle's follow-up season in 2021-22 was a disappointment, as his play was down nearly across the board.

Randle's struggles, along with his four-year, $106 million contract, have sparked trade speculation. However, the Knicks have made it clear they have no interest in attaching draft picks to trade Randle. New York doesn't currently see a need to simply dump Randle as bad salary.

The nature of the last two seasons continued a string of up-and-down, year-to-year struggles for Randle. His lone season with the New Orleans Pelicans saw Randle turn in an efficient year, only to see his first year with New York feature off a drop-off in his shooting. Then there was the inconsistency of the last two years.

Despite those challenges, Randle remains a big part of the Knicks future. Randle is expected to feature prominently in the offense alongside newly signed Jalen Brunson.