Donovan Mitchell Trade Could Open Floodgates For 2019 NBA Draft Class Extensions

The NBA has been at a standstill for much of the offseason thanks to Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Durant.

That’s no longer the case.

In late August, Durant “agreed to move forward” with the Brooklyn Nets after initially requesting a trade hours before free agency began on June 30. One week later, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Mitchell from the Utah Jazz in a blockbuster trade.

With both stars now off the market, the extension floodgates soon might open for the 2019 NBA draft class.

When Durant and Mitchell were still available, any interested suitors needed to maintain as much flexibility as possible for a potential trade. That was particularly tricky for teams with 2019 first-round picks, as those players became eligible for an extension this offseason.

Although Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and Darius Garland quickly agreed to max extensions with their respective teams, other 2019 draftees are still awaiting new deals. Durant and Mitchell might have been largely to blame for a few of them in particular.

When a team extends a first-round pick’s rookie-scale contract, he becomes subject to the poison-pill provision until the extension begins the following offseason. If the team hoped to trade that player before the extension kicked in, his incoming trade value would be the average of his salaries in the last year of his rookie-scale deal and his extension, while his outgoing trade value would be his actual salary.

The NBA’s salary-matching rules for trades make it difficult to move a player who’s subject to the poison-pill provision. Devin Harris is the only player in league history to be traded while under that provision, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Since the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers presumably have zero interest in trading Williamson, Morant and Garland, respectively, they had no qualms about extending them this offseason. That wasn’t the case for a few other 2019 first-round picks, though.

The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat were “among the teams” that Durant had “on his wish list” for a trade, according to Wojnarowski. Any trade offer from either team likely would have included Cameron Johnson (No. 11 in 2019) or Tyler Herro (No. 13). Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks offered De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 in 2019), John Collins and a draft pick to the Nets for Durant, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Had the Suns, Heat or Hawks extended Johnson, Herro or Hunter, they would have been subject to the poison-pill provision. That would have further complicated trade talks with Brooklyn, which perhaps explains why all three have yet to sign extensions.

The same might hold true for Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole. The Warriors reportedly held an internal discussion about whether to reacquire Durant, who helped them win two titles between the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Poole is among Golden State’s blue-chip prospects whom Brooklyn likely would have demanded in return had talks progressed to that point.

One 2019 draftee has already reaped the benefits of Durant and Mitchell no longer being available. On Monday, Wojnarowski reported that the New York Knicks were finalizing a four-year extension with RJ Barrett, the No. 3 overall pick in that year’s draft class, that could be worth up to $120 million.

The Knicks and Jazz had engaged in Mitchell trade talks throughout the offseason and revisited them in mid-August, according to Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic. The Knicks reportedly offered Evan Fournier, Obi Toppin, two unprotected first-round picks and three additional first-rounders, per Charania and Jones, but the Jazz’s asking price was “more significant than that.”

The Knicks “did include Barrett in trade proposals for Mitchell” as well, according to Wojnarowski, “which is why the process to complete the extension lasted several additional weeks.” However, Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose “set a Monday night deadline with Utah to reach an agreement on a trade for Mitchell or the Knicks would commit to the Barrett extension,” per Wojnarowski.

When that deadline came and went, the Knicks agreed to an extension with Barrett, which effectively removed him from the table in Mitchell trade talks. Less than three days later, Mitchell was headed to Cleveland.

Although Mitchell’s long-term future is now resolved, Durant’s remains an open question. How long will he remain patient with the Nets if they get off to a rockier-than-expected start this season? Might he again request to be dealt ahead of the February trade deadline? That uncertainty might deter interested teams from extending their 2019 draftees on the off chance he does become available between now and next summer.

Then again, the Nets reportedly set a sky-high asking price for Durant this offseason, one that no team was willing to meet. Does the upside of potentially acquiring him in-season outweigh the risk of eschewing an extension for a 2019 draftee and letting them test restricted free agency next summer?

Since Durant is under contract for four more years, the Nets were in no rush to bend to his trade request this offseason. Potential Durant suitors might gamble on him staying put this season and reevaluating his future next summer as needed. In that case, it’s far easier to swallow giving a player such as Herro, Poole, Johnson or Hunter an extension and effectively removing them from trade talks until next offseason.

The deadline for rookie-scale extensions isn’t until mid-October, so there’s no rush in getting a deal done for 2019 draftees quite yet. But with Mitchell and Durant no longer looming as potential trade targets, those conversations will likely heat up in the days and weeks to come.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac or RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.