Trading Donovan Mitchell marks the end of an era for the Jazz: A look at how it all went down behind the scenes
On April 16, the New York Knicks, from William Wesley to Allan Houston, caught much of the NBA’s attention.
That day, much of the Knicks’ front office showed up quite visibly for Game 1 of the Utah Jazz-Dallas Mavericks playoff series.
If you asked the Knicks why they were there, their reasoning would be they were there in support of Julius Randle, their power forward who is from the Dallas area.
In actuality, they were there to show a presence for Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell, in what was perceived by many as a message of their intention of pursuing the two players in the upcoming offseason.
That April day would mark the unofficial beginning of a wild saga between the Jazz and the Knicks, a saga that heated up this summer when the Jazz made it clear Mitchell was available.
It would be a negotiation that featured more back and forth than a Roger Federer tennis match. It ended just shy of Labor Day weekend with the Jazz dealing their All-Star guard not to the New York Knicks, but to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It would spawn the following question: How in the world is Mitchell not heading to New York?