Leon Rose’s daughter defends father after Knicks miss out on Donovan Mitchell
After months of rumors that linked Donovan Mitchell to the New York Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers swooped in and completed a trade with the Utah Jazz. Many Knicks fans have pointed blame at the front office ever since ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the trade on Thursday, but others have commended Leon Rose and Co. for not giving in to Danny Ainge.
But of course, to the rest of the NBA world, New York not trading for Donovan Mitchell has been automatically viewed as the Knicks taking yet another ‘L’ on a star. That’s nothing more than a lazy take as matters between New York and Utah were complicated. Ainge isn’t an easy person to do business with and after the Knicks refused to throw in a third unprotected pick, the Jazz found what they were looking for from the Cavaliers.
New York not trading for Mitchell doesn’t mean that the front office is incompetent. In fact, it can be viewed the other way around. While many Knicks fans were expressing their support for the front office after the Mitchell trade was announced, there was one post in particular that stood out.
Brooke Rose, the daughter of Leon Rose, posted an Instagram story where she expressed support for her father.
Leon Rose’s daughter Brooke on IG: pic.twitter.com/4MgL4FJ4ZV
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 2, 2022
Leon Rose’s daughter takes a shot at the Jazz in response to the Donovan Mitchell trade news
If Brooke was referring to Danny Ainge as a snake, and that seems to be the case, it’s hard to argue with that. The Jazz have benefitted from the hauls that Ainge got in return for Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, but when it comes down to it, it seems impossible to do good business with him.
According to Tony Jones of The Athletic (subscription required), Utah didn’t give New York the chance to make a better offer than Cleveland’s. The trade talks between the Knicks and the Jazz reportedly ended on Monday night when New York decided to extend RJ Barrett.
Danny Ainge wasn’t obligated to pick up the phone and allow the Knicks to make one final offer for Donovan Mitchell. However, New York’s front office not putting together a package deemed acceptable by Utah doesn’t mean that the Knicks failed, either.
Based on what’s been said, Knicks fans shouldn’t feel confident about the direction that the organization’s going on solely because a Donovan Mitchell trade didn’t come to fruition, but that’s not true. New York may not be labeled as one of the top teams in the East, but the Knicks are still in a good spot.
Believe it or not, but it’s okay to have faith in Leon Rose’s leadership.
