Revealed: Why Donovan Mitchell Was Not Good Enough for the Knicks

Donovan Mitchell played 5 seasons with the Utah Jazz before he got traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his entire stint at Utah, he had Rudy Gobert for company. But the arrival of Danny Ainge as an executive brought some drastic changes, and Donovan and Rudy were not part of his plans. Scott Perry, who was the GM of the Knicks, wanted Donovan for the New York team, but only at a certain price.

Utah Jazz made it to 5 consecutive playoffs when Donovan was there. But never made it past the second round. And this was a blot which played a deterrent in Perry’s eyes.

Knicks said No

The former GM of the Knicks was on the Hoop Genius Podcast recently. And he shared the reason that prevented him from going all in for Donovan Mitchell. He exclaimed that ?Obviously we made a push to trade for him,?

?But it was going to be done within reason. He was a good player, but he needed more around him to win. Because if he was that singular force, Utah probably would?ve been in the conference finals if he were that singular force ? But he wasn?t that singular force. That?s not a criticism against him. That?s just an evaluation that you must make.?

First, it was Rudy Gobert?s turn to go to the Timberwolves. Utah got Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, and Walker Kessler (No. 22 pick). And also several unprotected first round picks in exchange for Rudy Gobert.

This trade blew the market for other teams, and it set very high expectations for any superstar trade to happen.

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The New York Knicks faced the same music when they wanted to trade for Donovan Mitchell. And Perry did not play along with the Jazz for getting Mitchell to New York.

Perry was right

Last season, Donovan Mitchell once again made it to the playoffs. But this time, he was with his new team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. And faced the Knicks in the first round. Jalen Brunson led the New York team, and they defeated the Cavs 5-1 to go to the second round and face the Miami Heat. Though the second round was a slightly competitive one, the Knicks still had to bow out with a series loss of 2-4.

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The Knicks have been making it to the postseason for a couple of years now. And had they got Kyrie and KD to their team, things would have been different. With the way they are shaped, the Knicks will win over a superstar sooner than later who would take them over the hump. Until then, the New York team will have to go through some heart breaks.