Why Knicks target Donovan Mitchell ended up in Cleveland instead of New York

A few notes on the Knicks, Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers and Donovan Mitchell:

DID THIRD UNPROTECTED PICK KEEP MITCHELL FROM NEW YORK?

No. At least, not entirely. In talks with Utah, the Knicks made offers for Mitchell that included three unprotected first-round picks and didn’t include RJ Barrett, per SNY sources. The club also made offers that included Barrett, two unprotected first-round picks and the 2025 first-round pick from Milwaukee, which is top-four protected, per sources. 

Some of those offers included multiple young Knicks players and didn’t include Barrett. Some, as noted above, did include Barrett.

I don’t know further details of those packages (other picks, players, etc.). But I know that members of the organization felt that they put together packages that – objectively – were equal to the offer Utah accepted from Cleveland on Thursday afternoon.

The Cavs package, as first reported by ESPN, included three unprotected first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps, Lauri Markkanen, rookie wing Ochai Ojbaji and guard Collin Sexton.

Based on the assets available, the Knicks could have exceeded Cleveland’s offer. New York always had the opportunity to offer the best package for Mitchell. The Knicks could have traded as many as eight first-round picks and had young players like Barrett and Quentin Grimes that Utah liked.

Clearly, Leon Rose and Co. decided not to offer the Jazz a package they couldn’t refuse. 

(If you’re wondering what that kind of offer may have looked like, at one point, the Jazz asked for a package that included Barrett, Evan Fournier, three unprotected first-round picks, additional draft compensation and at least one other young Knick; at the time, obviously New York wouldn’t meet that asking price.)

NOT LANDING MITCHELL IS A RISK FOR NYK

So the Knicks move forward, for the moment, with a core that includes Barrett, Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, Grimes, Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley.

Maybe you think the Knicks showed the correct amount of restraint in the Mitchell situation. Maybe you think the Knicks’ young players – and whatever moves come next – will produce a perennial contender.

But the team had a prime opportunity to land a 25-year-old three-time All-Star and they ultimately passed on it (unless Utah was never seriously willing to send Mitchell to New York).

The question moving forward for the Knicks is: Will they have an opportunity to trade for another comparable star in the future?

Stars always become disgruntled in the NBA. So the Knicks will have an opportunity to trade for one. But will that player be Mitchell’s equal? Will he be better? If not, will the Knicks’ young core develop into a perennial contender?

Rose and Co. have essentially bet that one of those two scenarios will play out. Some members of the organization were hesitant to make a Godfather offer to Utah because they wanted the club to have enough trade capital leftover to go after another star.

BIG YEAR FOR 2022-23 KNICKS

That seems like a sensible approach. But now that the Knicks essentially passed on Mitchell, this year’s club will be under the spotlight.

If the 2022-23 Knicks struggle and fail to show clear improvement from last year’s team, everyone from management on down will be under heavy scrutiny.

I wouldn’t second-guess New York’s decision to keep Barrett out of the deal. But New York’s decision to extend Barrett essentially ended talks between with the Jazz.

The Cavs, as SNY reported, had informed parties that they were pulling out of talks for Mitchell last Friday. At the time, the deal for Mitchell was the Knicks’ to lose.

ESPN reported that Cleveland reached back out to Utah on Tuesday, shortly after the Knicks reached an extension agreement with Barrett.

Even at that point, the deal still was New York’s to lose. The Knicks could have exceeded Cleveland’s offer. But the Jazz didn’t re-engage the Knicks after talking again to Cleveland, sources confirm (as first reported by ESPN).

Cleveland now has a core of Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. That’s the caliber of a young core that the Knicks – and other rebuilding teams – covet. If New York fails to establish itself as an up-and-coming team in the Eastern Conference in the near future, media, fans – and ownership? – may look back on the Mitchell negotiations as a missed opportunity.

**This story was updated on Thursday night with information about the Knicks’ offers to Utah.