Last week, the Cleveland Cavaliers made one of their biggest moves in years by completing a stunning trade for guard Donovan Mitchell.
To get the deal done, the Cavs shipped away Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps.
For much of the offseason, the New York Knicks were considered the biggest threats to land Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. That’s part of the reason why Cleveland’s deal for Mitchell was so shocking when it was first announced.
Now that the deal is done, some rumors are leaking about the way things went down. In the eyes of some Knicks members, the team didn’t get a fair shake from the Jazz in trade talks.
“Members of the Knicks felt they didn’t get a fair shake from the Jazz in their trade negotiations for Donovan Mitchell, a pursuit that ended Thursday with the guard’s shocking deal to the Cavaliers,” wrote Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
New York apparently feels like it offered Utah some proposals that were better than the Cavs’ final package.
“The Knicks, according to sources, feel like their proposals with RJ Barrett as the centerpiece with multiple first-round picks were better than the Cavs’ final offer, which is up to interpretation,” Bondy wrote. “Only [Danny] Ainge knows if he negotiated in good faith. He’d never admit it if he didn’t. People who know Ainge say he’d never jeopardize a deal over something petty, whether it was that silly front-row display at the Jazz playoff game or issues with either the Knicks or CAA (the talent agency closely associated with the Knicks). But it’s worth noting Ainge only completed one trade with the Knicks during his 18 years in the [Boston] Celtics’ front office. He was much more active with Cleveland while completing eight deals, including the blockbuster involving Kyrie Irving in 2017 when current Cavs GM Koby Altman was in his first year at that position.”
It’s interesting to learn that the Knicks feel like they got the short end of the stick in trade talks for Mitchell. The Cavs likely don’t care, however, as they got their guy and are now focused on the 2022-23 season.
With Mitchell, Cleveland is set to roll out one of the best starting lineups in all of basketball. In addition to Mitchell, the starting group will likely feature Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
All of those players are 25 years old or younger, which says a lot about the direction of the Cavs as a franchise. The future is very bright for the organization.
After making the play-in tournament last season, the Cavs are looking to take a step forward in the 2022-23 campaign and make a playoff run.
