Donovan Mitchell admitted he really thought he was going to the New York Knicks during the offseason before the Cleveland Cavaliers swooped in and made the blockbuster deal for him.
Speaking with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Mitchell shared that he heard the Knicks were going to send RJ Barrett and multiple picks to the Utah Jazz in order to acquire him. As everybody knows, though, that didn't happen and the Cavs ended up trading for the explosive guard in exchange for three first-round picks, two pick swaps, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji and Collin Sexton
“I was told it was RJ (Barrett) and hella (draft) picks. That’s what I heard. And I thought that was happening. I thought that was it. I’m there (on the East Coast) all offseason. I’m there in the summer,” Mitchell said.
It would have been interesting to see how Donovan Mitchell would impact the Knicks had they completed the trade. After all, the 26-year-old is having an MVP season with the Cavs, averaging 31.9 points on top of 4.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. New York could have really used such kind of production.
But then again, we'll never know if Mitchell would have played the same if he ended up in New York.
For what it's worth, Shams Charania of The Athletic recently reported that the Knicks weren't fully sold on Mitchell being the guy they would want to go all-in to acquire. Several league executives expressed belief they are hoarding their draft picks in order to pounce on a “megastar” that could become available in the future.
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