With a disclaimer that he believes Donovan Mitchell is happy with the thriving Cavaliers, Joe Ingles said he still wouldn’t be surprised if his former teammate eventually played for the Knicks.
“For me, it would be cool,” Ingles, a forward with the Magic, told The Post. “Anybody who gets to play at home, it would be a pretty special thing for him. If he does, great. If he doesn’t, it’s not going to change my life one bit.”
Ingles, who played five seasons alongside Mitchell with the Jazz, told a Utah radio station in the summer that “I think [Mitchell will] play for New York one day, whether that’s sooner or later.”
He said Friday that was based on the Knicks’ need for a star at the time — which has somewhat changed, especially in the backcourt with Brunson’s emergence — and the allure of Mitchell, a New York product, returning home.
“I think when there was talk about him coming to New York, the team wasn’t doing that great. I think the way the team is now — I think he’s pretty happy with the way the things are going in Cleveland,” Ingles, an Australian, 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, like, why wouldn’t you think about it?”
Mitchell, who was pursued by the Knicks in 2022, turned down an extension offer from the Cavaliers in the summer. He can become a free agent in 2025 and Cleveland risks losing him for nothing without a trade.
The Knicks stockpiled future first-round picks with the hope of completing a star trade.
Miami and Brooklyn also have rumored interest in Mitchell.
“Even when we were in Utah, we would hear Donovan to the Knicks rumors all the time,” Ingles said.
Josh Hart playfully ripped his buddy Ingles on his latest podcast, “The Roommates” with Jalen Brunson, calling the Magic forward “the least athletic player in the NBA.”
Hart knew there’d be a response and it happened after Ingles checked in. Ingles ran to Hart and a stream of trash-talking commenced.
“That’s my guy. I knew he was going to be talking s–t. So I was ready,” Hart told The Post before the Knicks’ 98-74 win over the Magic. “I got a lot of love for Joe. He’s a guy who has helped me, even this year. Texting me, telling me to stay confident and all that stuff. So that’s my guy.
“And if you know Joe, Joe’s a s–t-talker. I was ready. I was waiting for him to check him. And I was hoping he was going to guard me ’cause I was going to bust his ass.”
Hart finished with 19 points in 42 minutes.
Ingles played just 17 minutes with one point.
Jacyn Goble, the referee who blew the Brunson foul last month in Houston, was among the three-person crew Friday night at MSG.
It was the first Knicks game Goble officiated since the debacle on Feb. 13, when his phantom call on Brunson sent the Rockets to the foul line for game-winning free throws in the final seconds.
