Knicks executive vice president William Wesley said that the Jazz were asking for an exorbitant return in the Donovan Mitchell trade talks.
Wesley’s thoughts on the trade talks were relayed by Charles Barkley, who said in an interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio that he spoke with the executive Thursday night.
“I said Wes, why didn’t y’all make the [Mitchell] trade? He said, ‘Oh man, don’t go by the media stuff,” Barkley, a Hall of Famer and TNT analyst, said in the interview. “They wanted my wife, my kids…. We wanted the deal, obviously. But he said they wanted my wife, they wanted my kids, they wanted my grandkids. They were just trying to rip somebody off. So he said… ‘Dude, we’re going to have to pass on it.’ And I give those guys credit because you can’t give away everything for a guy. I like Donovan, he’s a very good player. It was the first time in a long time the Knicks actually [showed restraint].”
The Knicks and Jazz talked over a time period of at least six weeks about a potential Mitchell trade. The Jazz had strong interest in New York’s RJ Barrett. The Knicks wouldn’t give Utah what it was asking for in any trade packages – with or without Barrett – prior to extending Barrett last month.
The day after New York extended Barrett, Cleveland reached out to Utah to rekindle Mitchell trade talks.
The Jazz and the Cavs reached an agreement two days later. Utah and New York didn’t formally speak after Cleveland re-entered negotiations with the Cavs.
The Knicks felt that they made offers to Utah that were equal to – or better than – the offer Utah accepted from the Cavs.
The Cavs package included three unprotected first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps, Lauri Markkanen, rookie wing Ochai Agbaji and guard Collin Sexton.
