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Former New York Knicks GM Scott Perry cited Donovan Mitchell’s lack of playoff success for why the Knicks did not end up trading for the NBA star. Perry said the Knicks did not acquiesce to the Utah Jazz's demands as they did not view Mitchell as a 'singular force' capable of pushing a team to the Conference finals. The former GM was speaking to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
New York seemed like the obvious destination for Mitchell when the Jazz were looking to trade him in 2022. Mitchell grew up in New York and was seen as a perfect fit for the Knicks.
Talks reportedly stalled because Utah wanted to land guard Quentin Grimes in the deal. Perry said the Knicks were not ready to gut their roster to bring in Mitchell.
“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.”
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After the deal between the two teams fell through, Mitchell was later dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton and draft picks.
Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz were not on the same page
At the time, Utah Jazz GM Danny Ainge told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that he was actually looking to trade Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers, who had more assets to offer. It seems the organization and Mitchell were not on the same page.
In an interview with JJ Reddick, Donovan Mitchell said, "I went to sleep on September 3 thinking I was already on the Knicks. I'm building a house there and I thought, we'll have to speed it up. And two days later, my agent called me and told me I was going to the Cavaliers. That was a shock for me."
The New York Knicks would later trade for Jalen Brunson who played a key role in eliminating Mitchell's Cavs in the first round of the playoffs last season.
