Did Danny Ainge Try to 'Rob' Knicks in Donovan Mitchell Trade?
Truly, there might have been no way for the New York Knicks to avoid a dire fate indirectly dealt by Donovan Mitchell, formerly of the Utah Jazz.
As it stands, the Knicks are the butt of another basketball joke after missing out on Mitchell's services despite being the long-reported front-runner for them. But had Mitchell donned the Knicks' blue and orange rather than the red and gold of the Cleveland Cavaliers, they might've become the victim of a Danny Ainge-orchestrated heist.
Everyone remotely associated with NBA basketball figured the Knicks and Mitchell would be a terrific match. Mitchell himself made little secret about his apparent metropolitan desires. But Ainge, the Jazz's CEO of basketball operations overseeing Utah's ongoing rebuild project, wanted to make the Knicks pay.
That's what an anonymous NBA executive claimed to the New York Post. Utah was already insistent on the Knicks removing restrictions from the massive draft pick stockpile, eventually getting three unprotected first-round selections from the Cavs (among other assets). Like Michael Jordan before him, however, Ainge apparently tried to make things personal
“I think Danny was thinking if he was giving [Mitchell] to New York, he wanted to rob them,’’ the executive told Marc Berman. “He knew how much they wanted him.’’
There's little precedent to Ainge dealing with the Knicks, particularly as an executive. During his time at the helm of the Boston Celtics, Ainge negotiated with the Knicks only once, the headling components being Nate Robinson for Henry Walker in 2010.
Berman's report hints that the collapse of negotiations with the Jazz forced the Knicks' hand into an RJ Barrett extension. Management was reportedly reluctant to do so ... especially considering Barrett's arrival came when current executive Leon Rose and William Wesley weren't involved in the decision ... but it was a relative consolation prize when it became clear that the Mitchell dream wouldn't become a reality.
"They didn’t want to pay RJ now, they like RJ, but he’s not one of their guys,’’ an NBA source told Berman. “If they got Donovan without Barrett in the deal, they weren’t going to pay RJ now.’’
If anything, there should a tad bit of juice left in the Knicks' nationally televised visit to Salt Lake City on Nov. 15, one that's now completely devoid of Mitchell's prescience. Ainge will probably want to stay home for the Manhattan-based rematch on Feb. 11.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
