Were Knicks ever seriously in running for Donovan Mitchell after all?
With the Utah Jazz shockingly trading three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, many Knicks fans are unsure of how to feel. Personally, after seeing the package the Jazz received, I am very curious as to what the Knicks were really doing. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like they were all that serious about making a deal, as the package the Jazz received was somewhat weak compared to what the Knicks could have offered.
It is probably a good thing that New York decided to stick with the young core and build around what the team has. However, after months of trade talks, how were the Knicks unable to put a serious trade offer in for Mitchell?
Honestly, it is more likely that the Knicks were just throwing lowball offers to Danny Ainge and the Jazz in order to see if the team would succumb to the pressure and trade the star. This makes sense considering all the assets that New York has.
Were the Knicks ever seriously in running for Donovan Mitchell after all?
After seeing a report from Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer stating that the Knicks were only willing to throw in two unprotected picks, it really seems as if the front office was not all that serious about a potential Mitchell trade. Only two picks for a player of Mitchell’s caliber is somewhat laughable.
To be clear, there was additional draft pick compensation in the Knicks' overtures for Mitchell, but sources said Monday's final effort only included two unprotected selections. And in this offseason's economy, especially in Utah, unprotected picks were the name of the game. https://t.co/KTmzAppnhD
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) September 1, 2022
I’m not saying that I would send that much for Mitchell, however, a lot of signs are pointing to the fact that New York’s front office was not taking these trade talks very seriously. They were looking to see if they could pull a trade off at a very low price to keep their young core on the roster.
It was never really reported that the Knicks attempted to make a mega deal with the Jazz that would send more than one of their young players to Utah for Mitchell, meaning that they likely did not take the negotiations very seriously
According to @JCMacriNBA, the final ask from Ainge was Grimes and four unprotected first round picks.
— Shawn (with a W) (@shawnwithaW_) September 1, 2022
For the Cavaliers, this deal is somewhat of a steal for them. This team is going to be good or great for a long time due to the young age of their core, which makes the unprotected picks seem not that bad. It is also a steal from a player swap point of view, as Lauri Markkanen is nothing spectacular, Collin Sexton was a player the Cavaliers seemingly never really wanted, and Ochai Agbaji is an unproven rookie.
While it would have been nice to see the Knicks trade for a star player, to see all the young guns remain on the roster is very nice. It will be very fun to see how these players develop over the coming seasons.
