NBA Rumors: NBA analyst claims Utah Jazz sent 3x All-Star to Cavs instead of New York Knicks as 'payback'
The Donovan Mitchell saga finally came to an end when the three-time All-Star was traded from the Utah Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was not traded to the New York Knicks despite being linked with a move to the Big Apple for years.
On the podcast On The Ball With Ric Bucher, the host provided inside knowledge as to why a trade did not come to fruition between the Knicks and the Jazz. Bucher believes that the Jazz held a grudge against the Knicks and hence greenlighted the trade to the Cavs.
"I was told about a week before the trade went down that the Jazz were so ticked at the Knicks that they might move Mitchell elsewhere for a lesser deal. It appears the Jazz did hold a grudge.
"The Knicks' last offer, I was told, was RJ Barrett, the Knicks' unprotected first-round pick in 24' and 26', the right to swap first-round picks in 25' and 27', Milwaukee's first round pick in 25', a little bit of protection on it, and two second-round picks," Bucher said.
Ric Bucher also said that it was the new Jazz CEO Danny Ainge who orchestrated this maneuvre that saw the Knicks hold nothing after years of pursuing Donovan Mitchell.
"Now, I've been told by several people in the league that the Jazz's new team president, former Celtics team president Danny Ainge, took exception to the Knicks posturing for a year as if Mitchell was there's for the taking. He was upset," Bucher said.
Donovan Mitchell was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Utah Jazz received Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, and two pick swaps in 2026 and 2028. Draft capital was the need of the hour for the Jazz as they head into a rebuilding phase.
Why Donovan Mitchell wound up with the Cavs...(Learned yet another reason after recording the podcast: some Jazz officials were not happy that Mitchell wanted out and viewed sending him to CLE -- rather than home to NY -- as payback) shows.acast.com/bucher-and-fri… via @acast
Collin Sexton is a good young player that the Jazz will receive in this trade while they will be hoping to unlock Markannen's potential. Either way, this was a deal that came about quickly and out of nowhere.
However, such rumors are to be taken with a pinch of salt as despite Ainge being competitive, he would still want to extract the maximum value out of his best players as possible.
Where do the New York Knicks go from here?
Donovan Mitchell would be the first bonafide superstar to play for the New York Knicks since Carmelo Anthony. However, this did not come to fruition as they have messed up their trade talks and will now head into yet another season without a perrenial All-Star on their roster.
But all is not lost for the New York Knicks as they have a lot of draft capital at their disposal, something that is key to trading for an All-Star caliber. They have also given RJ Barrett a new four-year deal as they have tied him down for the future.
New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett is finalizing a four-year rookie extension that could be worth up to $120 million, his agent Bill Duffy of @BDA_Sports + @WME_Sports told ESPN, complicating the franchise’s offseason trade pursuit of Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell. https://t.co/6KkGm4ch8o
More importantly, next year's free agency will feature the likes of Kyrie Irving, Khris Middleton, Kevin Love, Kristaps Porzingis and others. The New York Knicks have the cap space to pursue one if not two max players.