On Monday night, the New York Knicks announced that they had signed 2019 first-round draught selection RJ Barrett to a four-year contract, significantly complicating their efforts to sign Donovan Mitchell. The Miami Heat, one of Donovan Mitchell's top choices, now has the components to assemble the best deal to acquire Mitchell and may be able to field a superteam that can compete with the league's finest.
The Knicks and Utah Jazz had been negotiating a trade for Mitchell for most of the summer, but the Knicks were not satisfied with Utah's asking price. According to reports, New York was hesitant to include a large number of draught picks in the deal for Mitchell out of concern that doing so would limit their future flexibility and force them to rely solely on one player.