Why Knicks were ultimately smart to not trade for Donovan Mitchell

After years of murmurs, months of anticipation and weeks of Twitter meltdowns, Donovan Mitchell was finally traded Thursday. In a twist of events, the Knicks were not the recipient, but the upstart Cleveland Cavaliers.

This outcome will undoubtedly spur a vociferous response from Knicks fans and the general basketball world alike. Once again, the franchise enters a season without a superstar-caliber player, despite being the odds-on favorite to land this particular one. Now it’s back to hoping for the better version of Julius Randle and another leap from RJ Barrett.

What may be lost in the coming hoopla is that New York was smart not to outbid Cleveland in this deal. Smart teams simply don’t acquire stars at any cost, and the cost for Mitchell was astronomical.

The Cavaliers reportedly dealt Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton and Ochai Agbaji along with three unprotected first round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029 and two swaps.

Evan Fournier was going to be New York’s salary filler while Markkanen can still be considered a legitimate prospect at the age of 25 following a bounce-back season in 2021-22. Sexton was a borderline All-Star a year ago, paired with Agbaji, which means the Knicks would have had to include at least two of Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes.

Then there’s the pick package, with the latest possible three unprotected firsts a team can offer, along with two swaps, effectively tossing nearly every one of their own first-round selections after 2024. Not to mention the Knicks would likely have had to beat this offer, not just match it. Leon Rose and company were clearly not prepared to do that.

Good. They spent two seasons assembling a draft capital warchest from a cave with a box of scraps and would have had to spend it all on one bet -- one that makes the Cavaliers a prospective title contender while the Knicks would have still fought to stay out of the play-in tournament.

There were many red flags beyond the cost of dealing for Mitchell. His overall ceiling compared to first tier guys like Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic, his defensive fit with Jalen Brunson and his offensive fit with Randle and Barrett, to name a few.

Some may look at this saga as opportunity cost to the Knicks, when it may have been loss avoidance. Many of the folks who mock New York for not pulling the trigger would have been eager to do the same had the Knicks washed out in two seasons with one playoff series win, no assets and no more stars.

While trading for Mitchell would have all but locked the franchise into this uncertain core, they now maintain the flexibility to do better. More stars will become available, they always do.

In the meantime, their young crop remains and is plenty promising on its own. New York inked Barrett to an extension, and another step from him after the second half of last season he had makes Mitchell look expendable. Signing Mitchell Robinson and Brunson this offseason gives them two more legitimate starters who haven’t reached their prime.

We may not fully know what Toppin, Quickley or Grimes are yet. We will know much more by the end of this season, and fans can be confident enough in the team’s drafting and development to expect starter-quality production out of at least two of them. Maybe Cam Reddish finds his role.

It may seem like the Knicks don’t have the avenues to improve that Mitchell provided, but they truly have more after passing on this deal. They are still ready to build on a promising young core and return to some postseason presence, while maintaining the capital to make that big jump when it presents itself. A Mitchell trade, at this price or higher, would have left them trapped in purgatory.