Instead of including RJ Barrett in a deal that likely would have landed them Utah Jazz star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, the New York Knicks decided to keep the former Duke Blue Devil for years to come, with Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reporting Monday night that the Knicks are in the final process of inking Barrett to a four-year rookie extension deal worth $120 million.

Wojnarowski also added that the Knicks gave Utah some sort of an ultimatum on the Donovan Mitchell trade front, with New York president Leon Rose setting a “Monday night deadline with Utah to reach an agreement on a trade for Mitchell – or the Knicks would commit to the Barrett extension.”

The Knicks and the Jazz have had an on-and-off series of discussions about a potential Donovan Mitchell trade that would land the player in Big Apple. But with RJ Barrett on the verge of signing the massive extension, it becomes even unlikelier for the Knicks to have enough legroom in their cap room to accommodate Donovan Mitchell and his salary that carries a value of at least $30.3 million each season from 2022-23 up to 2025-26.

While nothing has been definitely said about the end of the Knicks' pursuit of Donovan Mitchell, the team appears to have still accomplished (partially at least) an offseason mission to upgrade its backcourt, having lured Jalen Brunson away from the Dallas Mavericks. A guard-duo of Brunson and Donovan Mitchell plus RJ Barrett would have made Knicks a bigger contender in the East, but that is now looking more like a dream than a reality at the moment.