New York Knicks fans went from analyzing Donovan Mitchell’s possible fit in NYC to being haunted by his name that will forever be associated with their favorite team. After the front office opted to not go all-in on Mitchell after an offseason full of rumors between New York and Utah, the 26-year-old guard has instead helped to elevate Cleveland to one of the top teams in the East.
In the Knicks’ first meeting against the Cavaliers this season, Mitchell torched New York with 38 points (12-of-20 from the field, 8-of-13 from three) and 12 assists to lead Cleveland to a 121-108 win. Understandably, his performance against the team that many thought he would end up on sparked yet another discussion about whether or not the front office should regret not giving Danny Ainge what he wanted.
It was stunning when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Cavaliers were sending three players, three unprotected first-round picks, and two pick swaps to the Jazz for Mitchell. Although the Knicks had announced a couple of days earlier that RJ Barrett would be receiving an extension, the belief was still that Mitchell would wind up in New York. Mitchell himself was prepared to go to the Knicks.
Here we are four months later, and the ‘what ifs’ surrounding Donovan Mitchell and the Knicks have gotten old.
Will Knicks ever be able to separate themselves from Donovan Mitchell?
Even for the Knicks fans that were desperately hoping to see the All-Star suit up for their team, the mention of Donovan Mitchell may warrant an eye-roll at this point.
The start of a new year might’ve been enough to end the Mitchell-Knicks conversation, but instead, an epic 71-point performance from the guard on the second night of the year reignited the never-ending ‘what ifs.’ He set a Cavaliers franchise record and became the seventh player in the history of the game to record 70+ points, which is nothing short of incredible.
Because it’s easy to pick on the Knicks, Mitchell’s 71 points were almost instantly linked to New York. Surely the front office had to be feeling some sort of regret, right? Was it really worth holding onto RJ Barrett and passing on Donovan Mitchell, who is having a far better year than Barrett?
The thing is, the answers to those questions don’t matter because what’s done is done. Would it be nice to see Mitchell, who is averaging a career-high 29.3 points, in New York? Of course. But because of the player that he is and the high level that he’s been playing at, Knicks fans aren’t going to be able to escape the ‘what ifs’ anytime soon. Donovan Mitchell isn’t set to be a free agent until the 2026 offseason and there’s a lot that can change between now and then.
The bottom line is that New York didn’t trade for Donovan Mitchell. The front office decided to go in another direction. Nothing can change that. However, as a Knicks fan, don’t expect to stop hearing about Mitchell anytime soon. That’s just the way that things go.
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