Fourteen months later, there is still a twinge of curiosity attached to Donovan Mitchell’s appearing on the same floor as the Knicks — but in a different-colored jersey.
Mitchell is that gifted a player. He is that seductive a talent. There are moments when you watch Mitchell and it’s hard to believe the Knicks didn’t pull the trigger before the Cavaliers did on Sept. 3, 2022. So much of that was on display Tuesday night in Cleveland, when Mitchell breezed his way to 20 first-half points.
And yet …
And yet. Here is the question you have to ask: Would the Knicks be significantly better — or, more relevant, closer to contender status — if they’d moved heaven and earth to acquire Mitchell? And it would have taken heaven and earth — for starters — to pique Danny Ainge’s attention span when he moved Mitchell from the Jazz.
Honestly, it’s hard to say yes.
Now, there is little question the Knicks would be a far more entertaining team, if for no other reason than the idea of Mitchell and Jalen Brunson is an image that’s still hard not to think hard about. It sure conjures the glory days of 1971-75, when Clyde Frazier and Earl Monroe were in their peak Knicks years, their nightly efforts a way to camouflage the slow decay of the championship era.
In 1974, just before his Celtics would face the Knicks in the playoffs for a third straight year — the Celtics, after being upset in both 1972 and ’73, would take that Eastern Conference Finals best-of-seven in five games — the great John Havlicek was asked about the Clyde/Pearl dynamic.
“The problem,” Havlicek said, “is that the two of them together are so creative, so dazzling, and so amazing to watch that you don’t know whether you should guard them or just enjoy them.”
When you see Brunson and Mitchell on opposite ends, it’s hard not to conjure what it might’ve looked like if they were on the same side. It’s that tempting.
And yet …
And yet. The Knicks had played Mitchell’s Cavaliers 10 times heading into Wednesday night’s Garden half of a back-to-back. And the Knicks had won eight of those games. Mitchell had played well in almost every one of those games: 31.8 points and 7.5 assists in the four regular-season games last year, 23.2 points and 7.3 rebounds across the five-game playoff series, 26 and three Tuesday night in Cleveland.
But the Knicks were still 8-2.
So that’s one vote cast in the “no” argument.
And there is this: By all accounts the Knicks’ last offer — and, one would suspect, their best — would have meant sending the following haul to the Cavs:
Evan Fournier (whose expiring contract could prove useful later this season).
Obi Toppin (now in Indiana, probably the least-painful part of the formula).
RJ Barrett (who sure seems like he’s raised his personal ceiling for a fourth straight time, though it’s a small sample size) or Immanuel Quickley (who blossomed last year and is an essential part of the Knicks’ success).
Two unprotected first-round picks (ouch, ouch).
Three additional first-round picks (ouch, ouch, ouch).
It is also likely that the Knicks might’ve passed on the Josh Hart trade last February, and unlikely Donte DiVincenzo would be here now.
Take a step back. Take a deep breath.
Fair is fair: I thought Leon Rose made a mistake last September when he chose not to go all-in. I can’t in good conscience say that was the right position on this. Making the Knicks more fun isn’t Leon’s job. Making them champions is. And the one big score that makes that happen is still Out There. Somewhere.
And yet …
And yet. The fact is that nameless white whale — like Mitchell — is still Out There, still somewhere other than here, and what’s clear is that this is the narrative that will dog the Knicks all year. Even as they went about the business of destroying the injury-strapped Cavs on Tuesday, Charles Barkley had told his TNT audience something every Knicks fan already knows.
“I think the Knicks need to do something,” Barkley said. “You see how this movie’s going to end … for me, the Knicks are like, ‘We play hard. We’re solid.’ But they’re not contenders”
His fix? Karl-Anthony Towns. Everyone’s got a thought on this. Only Rose holds the key.