BREAKING: RJ Barrett Extends, No Longer on Table for Donovan Mitchell

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The things that happen when you’re sleeping…

RJ Barrett Extends, No Longer on Table for Donovan Mitchell

🏀 The Charlie Ward Curse is over.

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn

New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett is finalizing a four-year rookie extension that could be worth up to $120 million, his agent Bill Duffy of @BDA_Sports + @WME_Sports told ESPN, complicating the franchise’s offseason trade pursuit of Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell.

Sometimes when news breaks, the subheading is more eye-opening than the title, and that is arguably the case here.

Since early July, the Knicks have been negotiating on and off with Utah for Donovan Mitchell. That much has been an open secret. What was less clear was how far Leon Rose was willing to go to get Mitchell to MSG. After Barrett’s four-year, $120 million extension was announced last night, and with it, more details of those trade discussions were revealed, there is no longer any doubt. RJ Barrett was very much on the table. Now, his inclusion in a trade becomes far more complicated.

We’ll get back to that in a bit. First, here’s the new reporting we know along with this news:

• Both Woj and Ian Begley confirmed last night that Barrett was offered to Utah. According to Woj, “the Knicks did include Barrett in trade proposals for Mitchell,” and that “Barrett was a staple of several different trade variations discussed,” while Begley - whose original reporting on Barrett’s possible inclusion dropped a week ago - reiterated that “some Knicks decision-makers were open” to his inclusion “but team president Leon Rose obviously decided against it.”

• Regarding the current state of negotiations with Utah, Begley added that “earlier this month, people briefed on the talks were pessimistic about a deal getting done if it didn’t include Barrett,” while Woj painted this more as an end (at least temporarily) to those negotiations altogether:

  “Barrett's deal…ends several weeks of trade discussions for Mitchell between New York and Utah, and forces the two organizations, if they choose, to start over talks with significantly different considerations because of the poison pill provision now in Barrett's deal.”

  Woj added that “the gap on deal points that included Barrett in the package tightened over the weekend and into Monday,” but “there remained a gulf on reaching a trade for Mitchell.” He writes that Leon Rose set a deadline of last night by which Utah would either have to agree to one of the Barrett-led packages or the third-year swingman would be taken off the table.

• And what were those Barrett-led packages? Woj stated that even with Barrett in a trade, “hurdles remained Monday about the total of unprotected first-round picks in the deal and the inclusion of Knicks guard Quentin Grimes.” Begley had something similar, stating “the Jazz would have wanted one player from the trio of Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley” even in a trade with Barrett. I was told by someone familiar with the negotiations that New York’s final offer included RJ, Evan Fournier, two unprotected picks from New York, and three of the protected first rounders from other teams.

The question now turns to “Why?” Why include a franchise cornerstone in trade talks for Mitchell, only to then turn around and sign him to the richest contract in franchise history?