Everyone knows that the Cleveland Cavaliers would not be where they are if they had not acquired Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. It hasn't pushed them to another NBA Finals and may never do so, but what many forget is that things played out the way they have in part because the Jazz didn't trade Mitchell to the team currently beating him: the New York Knicks.
For anyone who doesn't remember, Mitchell, a New York native, was being dangled to the highest bidder once it was clear his time on the Jazz had run its course back in 2022. The Knicks wanted in on him, even though they had just signed Jalen Brunson.
Utah's front office played hardball with New York, and because the latter wouldn't bite, the former traded him to Cleveland instead. Note that if Utah had caved, Lauri Markkanen never becomes a Jazzman and we are talking a completely different course of events from 2022 until now.
Mitchell hasn't done much better with the Cavaliers than he did with the Jazz. This has been emphasized by his multiple playoff collapses over the last four years, but one can't help but wonder if he and Brunson had teamed up as Knicks.
It may not have worked as well as one might think
Brunson went from Luka Doncic's right-hand man to being the guy in New York, and now they've most consistent success they've had since the 90s. There's no telling if he and Mitchell could have made it work, as both are undersized, ball-dominant guards who are better with the ball than without it.
It may have been a struggle for the two of them to co-exist with one another. Not to mention the defensive handicap that would have come with starting both of them. Don't believe that? Look what happened for years when the Cavs started Mitchell and Darius Garland.
Basketball is not played in a vacuum. Why the Knicks are on the precipice of making the NBA Finals may start with Brunson, but it's also because they built the right team around him. They put good defenders and good scorers around him while also not acquiring anyone who may have been redundant next to him. Mitchell may have hurt them for that reason.
It remains in question as to whether the Cavaliers have done the same with Mitchell. They've definitely tried and have taken advantage of the opportunities, but they're still pretty much in the same position they were when they acquired him, which is why many think some changes are on the horizon.
To think that we'd have a very different conversation right now if Mitchell had gone home. It's just crazy to think of how different the Eastern Conference playoff picture would be had the Jazz chosen differently.
Add us as a preferred source on Google