Many of the New York Knick fans are “shocked, angry, and disappointed” with their franchise. Recently, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz and acquired Donovan Mitchell on an already talented squad, reported Marc Berman for the New York Post.
Full trade: Utah is trading Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland for Lauri Markkanen, Ochair Agbaji, Collin Sexton, three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 1, 2022
The Knicks were connected to Mitchell throughout the entire process, however, they didn’t get an opportunity to possibly make their best offer. The extension of R.J. Barrett was an absolute priority this season for the Knicks. This may have allowed them to open the floodgates and offer a solid deal to the Jazz, therefore, securing Mitchell. Many of the Knicks fanbases feel as if the Cavaliers stole Mitchell from them within the last hours of negotiations.
Berman reported, that the Barrett extension announcement was calculated and sent a direct message to the Jazz. However, before the package can be negotiated possibly shipping off Barrett the Cavs sealed it. It appears Barrett was a pawn to secure Mitchell, however, this backfired and now the Knicks will keep him indefinitely.
According to an NBA source, they were unwilling to compensate RJ at the moment because he isn’t one of their preferred individuals, despite their positive opinion of him. They preferred to include him in a trade involving Donovan.A few weeks ago, if they got Donovan without Barrett in the deal, they weren’t going to pay RJ now.”
Why are the Knicks Overreacting to not Acquiring Donovan Mitchell?
The Knicks fans are overreacting because they would have given up entirely too much for a very good player but not a great player. Mitchell is exceptional, however, he’s not good enough to bring the Knicks to the next level. The Knicks haven’t seen success in the playoffs since Carmelo Anthony’s tenure in Madison Square Garden.
In the end, the Knicks are stuck with Barrett but the reality is they had to do something. As of now, the Knicks are forced to move on without Mitchell. However, they have an exciting young core and plenty of pieces to build upon going forward. Not to mention, they have tons of draft capital and now newly acquired PG Jalen Brunson. He puts them in a much better spot than last year and maybe the fringe playoff team may surprise a ton of people this season.
