Donovan Mitchell was widely expected to be traded to the New York Knicks before the Cleveland Cavaliers swooped in and convinced the Utah Jazz to send Mitchell to them instead for a handsome trade package featuring a young 20-point scorer in Collin Sexton along with a whole host of draft picks.
The New York Knicks failed to get a deal done and that led to criticism from fans and media. However, the Boston Globe has revealed some intimate details on the situation between the Knicks and Jazz, with consultant Gersson Rosas being the primary negotiator for New York, not Leon Rose as many had expected prior.
According to industry sources, the main players negotiating weren’t Knicks president Leon Rose and Ainge. Ainge had a voice in the talks and opinions on whether the Jazz should move their best player several weeks after trading center Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves for a haul of young players and picks.
The main negotiator in the Knicks-Jazz talks on New York’s side was Gersson Rosas, who was let go by the Timberwolves for his part in a reportedly dysfunctional front office that included his relationship with a team employee. Rosas was hired as a consultant by the Knicks in February but took control of the Mitchell talks because of his relationship with Jazz general manager Justin Zanik. Rose apparently trusted Rosas with the negotiations, and it became obvious over the past few weeks that the Knicks were in the driver’s seat to acquire Mitchell, a New York native who wanted to play for the Knicks. It became unclear, however, how many assets the Knicks were willing to relinquish for Mitchell. (h/t Boston Globe)
Did The New York Knicks Make A Mistake By Not Acquiring Donovan Mitchell?
It is hard to say whether the Knicks made a mistake in this situation without knowing the exact trade package Utah would have said yes to. However, giving up as many picks as they would have had to along with young players like R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley might have been too high a price to pay.
The Knicks roster without Barrett and with Mitchell wouldn’t necessarily look great and would lead to the team tying up a lot of future assets on that core which wouldn’t look very competitive on paper. The deal made a lot more sense for Cleveland who have players that better complement Mitchell’s game.
Leon Rose not personally delivering on a trade like this could come back to haunt him depending on how Mitchell plays in Cleveland. Hopefully, Rosas didn’t end up overplaying the Knicks’ hand and let an easier trade slip through his fingers.
