Despite being traded from the Utah Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell has come out and said that he could have gone to the Knicks, but there is more to the story than what we know.
Leave it to the New York Knicks to find a way to blow an opportunity to get a superstar like Donovan Mitchell in their building, like only they can.
Once again, they had an opportunity to get a superstar and bring light into Madison Square Garden, and once again, the Knicks failed to do so.
However, there’s another part of this story that hasn’t been told up until now. In an interview with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Mitchell explained how he believed he would end up with the Knicks.
That just took a different turn. It really looks like the Knicks were willing to make a large deal, but because of various factors and their unwillingness to meet the large demands of Danny Ainge and the Jazz, it didn’t happen.
This mere revelation softens the blow a bit for the Knicks, but once again, they are left with nothing to show for it. Though RJ Barrett and Julius Randle are nice pieces, they are nowhere near Mitchell, who would have given the Garden a reason to be excited for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
Donovan Mitchell said there is more to the story of not ending up with the New York Knicks.
All is not lost. New York still has their haul of draft picks that, if they use them wisely, they could find someone like Donovan Mitchell and other supporting pieces around him. At the same time, Mitchell could have been a Knick long before this situation arose.
The year Mitchell was drafted, the Knicks passed him on in favor of Frank Ntilikina, who, while still playing in the league, continues to give ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith nightmares of the Phil Jackson era. Mitchell went to Utah and has been a force ever since. Now, he is heading to Cleveland, hoping to bring the Cavaliers to the next step.
As for the Knicks, they are back to being who they are, and that hurts for their fanbase. At the same time, it means more Stephen A rants about the team, which, to be honest, is must-see TV and very entertaining and hilarious. Mitchell could have been a Knick, and this would have been avoided, and the Knicks had two chances to get him. In the end, they failed, as they always seem to do.