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On September 7, 1996, Donovan Mitchell was born in Elmsford, New York. Some 26 years later, he had a chance to come back home. For one reason or another, however, the New York Knicks just weren't able to get this done.
Instead, Mitchell is now headed to the Cleveland Cavaliers after the Utah Jazz decided to accept the Cavs' trade offer for the All-Star shooting guard. For their part, the Knicks are now looking at the prospect of entering another season without a superstar-caliber player on their roster. And no, neither Julius Randle nor Jalen Brunson can be considered a superstar.
The sad reality for the Knicks is that they missed out on a golden opportunity in Donovan Mitchell. Marc Berman of the New York Post reports that this is the general sentiment from around the league at the moment:
Whatever the details on why the Mitchell trade fell through, some league officials feel the Knicks missed out on a golden opportunity in getting a homegrown star who wants to play in New York. Those chances don’t come along often.
Mitchell was not only going to be a home-grown talent for the Knicks, but the general belief is that he actually wanted to play in New York. Everything seemed to be going for the Knicks here, but in the end, they still lost out.
Then again, you also have to note that the Jazz knew all about the homecoming narrative. Danny Ainge may have actually used this to his advantage. The Knicks botched this deal. There's no denying that. However, it can also be argued that this wasn't all on them. After all, it always takes two to tango.
