NBA Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers thought Donovan Mitchell was heading to New York Knicks before they signed RJ Barrett to an extension
The New York Knicks were close to agreeing a deal with the Utah Jazz for Donovan Mitchell on several occasions this offseason. However, in a surprising turn of events, the 3x All-Star got traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday (September 1).
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavaliers re-engaged with the Jazz after New York signed RJ Barrett to an extension. Until then, even the Cavs thought Mitchell would've landed with the Knicks this offseason.
"Koby Altman, Cleveland's president, was in New York on Monday night. He was watching Serena Williams at the US Open, (he) saw our reporting on RJ Barrett signing the extension with the Knicks and the Knicks and Jazz talks had ended.
Wojnarowski added:
"He picked up the phone on Tuesday morning, he called Justin Zanik, the Jazz GM. They restarted a conversation that they had been having last week. And Cleveland had pulled out on Donovan Mitchell on Friday. And Even Cleveland thought it was probably going to end up being New York."
The New York Knicks were reportedly the frontrunners in the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes. They had eight tradeable first-round picks and multiple young players that the Utah Jazz wanted.
However, New York failed to match Utah's expectations during most of their conversations. The Knicks only agreed to part ways with two unprotected firsts, while the Jazz wanted three and multiple pick swaps, in their most recent conversations.
New York Knicks recent offer for Donovan Mitchell included RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and two unprotected firsts
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the New York Knicks' most recent offer for Donovan Mitchell included RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and two unprotected first-round picks. The Utah Jazz declined the package and reportedly wanted one more unprotected pick, multiple pick swaps, and one more young player.
"They had everything necessary to get a deal done ... in their last offer they put on the table RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, two unprotected first-round picks but Danny Ainge and the Utah Jazz wanted more."
@ShamsCharania reports on Utah taking the Cavs offer over the Knicks. https://t.co/2rKkNpIThl
The Knicks had what was needed to trade for Mitchell. It could arguably be one of their most disappointing offseasons, as the player was interested in a move to New York, which is also his hometown. New York desperately needed an All-Star to bolster their hopes of playoff qualification.
The New York Knicks were extremely close to a deal. Big-name players aren't often available in the trade market, so this was a solid chance for the playoff hopefuls, on which they unfortunately couldn't capitalize.
However, they will have to rely on their current core, featuring Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, to play at an elite level if they are to stay competitive against the rest of the Eastern Conference playoff contenders.