All reports claimed that Donovan Mitchell’s trade to the New York Knicks was inevitable. It was just a matter of when not if; they just needed to go over some minor hurdles regarding the Utah Jazz’s asking price.
Danny Ainge wanted to fleece the Knicks, and that’s fine; that’s his job. But even though he got a nice set of assets in return, the Knicks could’ve still one-upped that offer and outbid every team. They had the assets and Spida’s approval.
That’s why ESPN analyst and Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith just couldn’t take it anymore. He immediately took to social media to put his team on blast for letting the Cleveland Cavaliers steal him.
NBA News: Stephen A. Smith Goes Off On The Knicks Over Not Landing Donovan Mitchell
“You see what I’m saying?” Smith started. “Every single time something goes wrong. You got about 7 or 8 first-round picks, you got RJ Barrett, you got Julius Randle, you got Toppin, you got Immanuel Quickley. And you still couldn’t get Donovan Mitchell. You still couldn’t get him.”
“Once again we’re going to go into another season, and the New York Knicks are still devoid of a star,” Smith added. “They’re somewhere other than in a New York Knicks uniform. They make me sick. Nothing ever gets done in New York with the Knicks. Nothing. It just never ends with the Knicks. It just never freaking ends.”
The Knicks didn’t want to overpay or bid against themselves, and that’s fine; it makes sense. But we’re talking about the same team that committed $340 million for Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett, and Julius Randle, none of which is nearly half as good as Mitchell.
But it goes beyond that. The realissue is that this seems to happen every single year. They’re close to landing one or two stars, fall short, and then wind up overpaying borderline starters. Wash, rinse, repeat.