Joe Ingles issued a disclaimer saying he believes Donovan Mitchell is happy with the Cavaliers, and said he wouldn’t be surprised if his former teammate ends up playing for the Knicks.
“For me, that’s great,” Magic forward Ingles told the Post. “Anyone who can play at home, that would be pretty special for him. If he does, great. If he doesn’t, my life won’t be any different.”
Ingles, who played with Mitchell for five seasons with the Jazz, told a Utah radio station over the summer: [Mitchell will] Sooner or later, I’m going to play in New York someday. ”
He said Friday that the reasoning was based on the Knicks’ need for a star at the time (particularly in the backcourt, which had changed somewhat with Brunson’s rise) and Mitchell, a New York product, returning to his hometown. Told.
“When there was talk of him coming to New York, I don’t think the team was doing very well. The way the team is right now, I think he’s pretty happy with the situation in Cleveland,” the Australian said. Ingles said. “But it still wouldn’t surprise me. … He’s a New York kid. If I could play in Melbourne and make the same amount of money, why wouldn’t I consider it?”
Mitchell, who was targeted by the Knicks in 2022, turned down an extension offer from the Cavaliers in the summer. He could become a free agent in 2025, and Cleveland risks losing him for nothing without a trade.
The Knicks stocked up on future first-round picks in hopes of completing a trade for a star player.
Miami and Brooklyn are also rumored to be interested in Mitchell.
“Even when I was in Utah, I always heard rumors about Donovan and the Knicks,” Ingles said.
Josh Hart playfully rips his buddy Ingles In his latest podcast, The Roommates Along with Jalen Brunson, he called the Magic forward “the least athletic player in the NBA.”
Hart knew there would be a response, but it came after Ingles checked in. Ingles ran up to Hart and a flow of trash talk began.
“That’s my guy. I knew he was going to say something terrible. So I was ready,” Hart told the Post before the Knicks’ 98-74 win over the Magic. “I felt a lot of love for Joe. He’s the guy who’s taken care of me this year. He’s texting me and telling me to be confident and all that stuff. That’s my guy.
“And if you know Joe, Joe is a talker. I was ready. I was waiting for him to test me. And I knew he would protect me. I was expecting it, because I was going to bust his ass.”
Hart scored 19 points in 42 minutes.
Ingles played just 17 minutes and scored one goal.
Referee Jaysin Goble, who fouled Brunson in Houston last month, was also part of the trio at MSG Friday night.
It was the first Knicks game Goble officiated since the Feb. 13 debacle when Goble made a phantom call on Brunson in the final minute that forced the Rockets to the foul line and made the game-clinching free throw. Ta.
