The New York Knicks planned to continue pursuing a trade for Donovan Mitchell after they reached an impasse with the Utah Jazz over pick protections on a third first round pick, which led them to move forward with a four-year, $107 million extension with RJ Barrett.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, who broke off talks with the Jazz last Friday, reached back out to Utah on Tuesday morning and reached a deal two days later.
The Jazz pivoted fully to the discussions with the Cavaliers and never again engaged the Knicks in talks this week.
The Knicks made a calculated gamble not to bid against themselves in their efforts to trade for Mitchell, who was enthusiastic over playing for his hometown franchise. Utah, however, never gave the Knicks a chance to improve their offer when they were on the cusp of their agreement with the Cavaliers.
Mitchell has four years and $134.9 million remaining on the maximum extension he signed during the 2020 offseason, but the final season is a player option for $37.1 million.
