Stephen A Smith’s Danny Ainge claim will validate Knicks fans’ opinions of him
There’s one thing that New York Knicks fans can count on Stephen A. Smith for, and it’s to scream negativity 98% of the time on national television when he’s talking about the team. Ahead of New York’s season opener against Memphis, that’s exactly what Stephen A. did in a heated debate with Tracy Morgan.
Morgan, a longtime Knicks fan, said that he believed that New York would win its first game of the year. That opened up a rant from Stephen A., who said that the Knicks have too many issues that start at the top and that he wouldn’t be going to Madison Square Garden to watch the team.
When SAS said that the organization’s issues start at the top, he faulted owner James Dolan and president Leon Rose. He talked about how he’s known Rose, Allan Houston, and William Wesley for a long time, but he disproved of Houston and Wesley attending Game 1 of the Utah Jazz-Dallas Mavericks playoff season.
And according to Stephen A., Danny Ainge said in that moment that he wouldn’t trade Donovan Mitchell to New York. As we know, the star guard ended up in Cleveland.
"When the [Knicks brass] showed up for the playoff game with [Jalen] Brunson on one side and Donovan Mitchell on the other, I was told that Danny Ainge sat up there and said, 'when hell freezes over will I do a deal with them.'"
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 19, 2022
— @stephenasmithpic.twitter.com/vfhW9lZfyM
Stephen A. Smith says Danny Ainge refused to trade Donovan Mitchell to Knicks after team executives attended Jazz-Mavericks playoff game
Houston and Wesley attending the game raised some eyebrows, but it makes sense that Randle was there because he’s from Dallas. He also doesn’t make big decisions related to the team.
In retrospect, New York was close to having two players on the 2022-23 roster that played in that game. Jalen Brunson is a Knick and Donovan Mitchell was close to being a Knick. It was Danny Ainge’s demands that prevented New York from doing a deal, though. Instead, the guard was sent to the Cavaliers in a surprise move.
Did Houston and Wesley being in Dallas for Game 1 have anything to do with that? Maybe, but surely that couldn’t have pissed off Ainge that bad. At the same time, it wouldn’t be that surprising if their attendance did play a favor in Utah sending Mitchell to Cleveland. After all, Ainge isn’t exactly the easiest guy to do business with.
If you’re still upset that the Knicks didn’t get Mitchell, you can find some solace in New York’s depth being some of the best in the NBA. That wouldn’t have been the case if Ainge would’ve cleared the Knicks out in a deal, so it might be a good thing that the Knicks decided to catch some playoff action in Texas.
