The New York Knickshad everything to get Donovan Mitchell. Their officials were close to him; he was a hometown kid, and they had the picks, the young players, the salary cap. But as it usually happens, it wasnāt enough.
Danny Ainge and the Utah Jazz wound up sending Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And even though they got quite the decent package in return, some believe the Knicks couldāve one-upped every offer.
However, it seems like the Jazz never intended to send him to the Big Apple. According to NBA insider Ric Bucher, some officials werenāt willing to trade him to his preferred destination out of pure spite.
NBA Rumors: Jazz Didnāt Want To Trade Mitchell To NY As A Payback
āSome Jazz officials were not happy that Mitchell wanted out and viewed sending him to CLE ā rather than home to NY ā as payback,ā Bucher reported.
Mitchell Is Ecstatic For The Trade
That seems kind of unfair considering the fact that Mitchell never publically asked for a trade, even despite they moved Rudy Gobert. Also, that payback backfired, as heās reportedly thrilled about playing in Cleveland:
āItās a great fit for Donovan Mitchell,ā ESPNās Brian Windhorst said. āAnd Iām gonna tell you, I canāt tell you how I know, but Iām aware of when he found out. And Iām aware of when he actually found out about what was in the trade.ā
āAnd when he found out ā he was on a golf course ā and when he found out that Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Darius Garland were not in the trade, and neither was Kevin Love, he went screaming around the golf course, he was so excited,ā Windhorst added.āHeās extremely excited in this moment. Iām sure he would love to have been a [New York] Knick, thatās his hometown. But heās extremely excited in the moment.ā
The Cavs now have one of the best lineups in the league, at least on paper. The Knicks, on the other hand, have committed $340 million to their Big 3 of Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Jalen Brunson, so thereās thatā¦
