Donovan Mitchell came extremely close to becoming a member of the New York Knicks this past summer. In fact, most folks believed that the Knicks were on the brink of announcing a homecoming for the New York native, who for his part, admitted later on that he too felt that the move was all but official.

It never came to be. The Knicks reportedly pulled the trigger on the deal after refusing to meet the Utah Jazz's lofty demands for Mitchell. The Cleveland Cavaliers, however, did not waste any time in making their move. The Cavs met Utah's asking price for the All-Star shooting guard, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Knicks team owner James Dolan recently spoke out about his role in the botched Donovan Mitchell trade — or actually, the lack thereof. While some fans might think that the billionaire heavily involves himself in the day-to-day operations of his team, Dolan says that he actually didn't use his position to try and force the Mitchell deal to push through. This comes via ESPN reporter Tim Bontemps:

“James Dolan, on WFAN, if the ‘meddlesome' version of James Dolan would have forced his front office to make a trade for Donovan Mitchell? ‘Not in the last 10 years.' Dolan says his views have changed, and that he has to leave the decision making to the decision makers he’s hired,” Bontemps wrote in his tweet.

What James Dolan is saying here is that he no longer micro-manages the Knicks front office, particularly when it comes to trade decisions. If you think about it, this means that he shouldn't be blamed for the botched Donovan Mitchell trade. While some Knicks fans might believe that Dolan played a key role in the failed deal, the fact of the matter is that this just isn't true — at least according to James Dolan.