Donovan Mitchell Trade: Knicks Swing On Another Star, But RJ Barrett And Future Resilience Was Worth More

Donovan Mitchell was traded, apparently all of a sudden, to Cleveland Cavaliers On Thursday, the story of the fallout from a low hanging to New York Knicks You’ll set off on another star hunt. It’s not an unreasonable takeaway. Knicks eventually has to actually catch one of those big fish they always catch.

But the wrong deal can affect the franchise just as much as the right one. Of all the stars that the Knicks have followed to varying degrees lately, are we sure Mitchell could have been the one to land?

First, are we sure Donovan Mitchell is a star? It is very good. in the attack. He’s proven to be a great playoff player, and that should matter a lot. But Mitchell-Jalen Bronson’s backcourt looks too small and fragile defensively. If the Knicks had relinquished RJ Barrett in a deal to acquire Mitchell, as well as Quentin Grimes or a future first-round protected third pick, which was said to be what Utah wanted, it greatly hampered their ability to chase after all the other Superstars. underline.

So if the Knicks roster that includes Mitchell is closer to a finished product, how good is the Mitchell-Bronson coupling, especially without the size and defensive backing of Barrett? In that scenario, you’d better hope Julius Randle turns back into an All-Star, and even then you’d probably look at a low-level playoff team, at best, in a fully stacked Eastern Conference.

Deal Utah Gets From Cleveland – Colin Sextion, Laurie Markanen, 2022 No. 14 Ochai Agbajithree unprotected first-round picks and the right to two future swaps–a better deal New York was willing to offer, According to ESPN’s Adrian Vojnarowski,As follows:

when guarding Emmanuel Quikli Suggested as an alternative to the Grimes in the trade, Utah wanted three unprotected first-round picks as part of the package — but New York would only make the third first-round pick that featured the top five protections, sources said. Sources said these packages would have included second-round picks, two selection swaps, and two expired contracts from a third team. New York was going out Evan Fournier Sources said the first round will select a third team to spare Utah carrying the remaining $37 million from Fournier.

Danny Aing is a certified thief in these negotiations, and New York, to me, was smart not to give up. And again, Mitchell is really good. But how good? While the acquisition price wasn’t going to empty New York’s basket (it has eight eligible futures options to trade), it did leave only three future options – of negotiable value – to enter into future trade talks, with Oklahoma City and Houston likely a few away. Years of preparing to dust off everyone else’s shows.

Be clear, I’m not saying that Knicks would have been unequivocally misleading to go all-in on Mitchell. New York is said to have thought the Bronson Mitchell duo might attract another superstar. This is debatable, as is whether the Knicks had the resources to add this third star even if he appeared as a target.

In the end, if Knicks had been able to hold Barrett, I would have supported adding more unprotected shots to get Mitchell. I think Barrett could evolve into an All-Star, and there are your top 3 players if Bronson turns out to be an All-Star player. If he doesn’t, you can pack him up with leftover picks for a high-profile replacement to pair with Mitchell and Barrett. Or you can trade Barrett. This could have been plenty of wiggle room to get you comfortable.

But giving up on Barrett And the The unprotected group of shots was a bridge too far. Mitchell is not like that who – which amazing. When the disappointment of euphoria subsides over another star, Knicks fans will see, or should, that they are well placed to move on. Bronson has probably overpaid, as we’ll see, but he’s a pretty good player and he’s taking the ball out of Randle’s monopoly hands. Barrett now has time to continue developing, and most importantly, these eight drafts that are eligible for future trades are still in the portfolio.

Consider a potentially huge uptick in 2025, when a new TV deal is due to kick off, and New York may also be a few years away from owning something close to maximum space. At this point, Bronson will have a player option. If it’s worth it, you extend it. If not, it becomes a commercial piece. This is called resilience, which, to me, is better than depleting your asset pool and over-expanding yourself just because Mitchell is ranked sixth.

I will repeat this one last time: reasonable minds can disagree on this position I have taken. Knicks should get a real star at some point, and Mitchell is a star. He’s not a superstar, in my opinion, but he’s a legitimate star. If you thought the Knicks should have given up more unprotected shots and/or Barrett and found out the rest later, especially with Houston and OK C Cochin hitting the trade a few years from now, that’s understandable. It’s not where I fall, but that’s not an obvious situation. This was a tough call either way. Only time will tell if Knicks chose the right one.