On this episode of The Heat Check.
We're a little late to talk about this Donovan Mitchell trade, but I did have some other pressing business which we will get to where I actually broke the donovand Mitchell trade to the City of New York live on their air before anyone else. So if there was an awesome time to be on w f A N that was it. Two straight hours of angry New York fans. We look at the aftermath of the trade. We also get into this new Patrick Beverly.
We'll call it a development.
He's stern shit up in la already, folks. He is now working to change the cold. And we also discussed the latest news from the EuroBasket twenty twenty two. An amazing tournament. This is not getting enough love and enough shine, so do me a favor. Training camp coming so fast, let's drop that beat. It's a bit late, but unless you've been living under a rock, you are aware now
that Donovan Mitchell has been traded. But he's been traded out of nowhere to the Cleveland Cavaliers after months of speculation saying it was a done deal that he'd end up a nick no sir. At the very last minute left at the altar once again, and the Knicks, according to a ton of sources.
Still in shock. They are shook it. So you already know the details.
The Knicks creating a fake deadline, which we talked about last week, signed R. J. Barrett to a one hundred and twenty million dollars four year extension, and the next day two three days later, I guess Colin Sexton, Lori Markenen three unprotected firsts pick swaps to Utah for Donovan Mitchell and now they have one of the best starting fives in the league, just.
Like that.
And the Knicks, let me tell you this, they are facing a very divided fan base, a very divided for an office, and accusations that they're just continuing to be the Knicks, just NIXT doing nixt thing. Jeff Van Gundy basically summed it up when he told The New York Post, the Knicks have good players, but if you line it up against the competition in the East, this roster is
not on the same level. They could shock the world and be a playoff team, But I look at the East and I have to say eight to thirteen is where they should be predicted to go. Eight to thirteen. They're not even close to a lock for the play in a lot has to go, right. I think that's probably right. I think that's probably true. But I also
have a unique perspective. I think on this trade, I just so happen to be filling in on wfa in for Carton and Roberts during drive time, the number one show for sports talk radio in New York City, heart and lifeblood of New York Sports, the largest sports radio station in the world. Right as the Donovan Mitchell trade broke, and were not even at a break, not even at
a commercial, no time for the news update. Guy no no, our producer slacks us Donovan Mitchell just traded to the Calves go and it was like, Hey, sorry, uh Giuseppi from the Bronx, we gotta let you go. I know what you think is really important about the Mets, but we've got some breaking.
News shit going on right now. Donovan Mitchell's not coming to the Knicks.
Literally, while we were on the biggest Knicks news of the year, and me and my co host had to break it to a very excited and then let down fan base.
Two hours of calls, ring ring, ring, ring, lots.
Of people wanted to give their perspective, and the entire calls were essentially this spectrum of what the trade meant. Surprisingly, though I thought a lot more people would be mad. I mean people were mad, but I thought more people would be mad. It was pretty much fifty to fifty down in the middle half. The callers were irate, saying, this is the Knicks continuing to do what the Knicks do. We're never gonna get a star. This is why we
can't watch this team. What's wrong with us? Basically the argument that the Knicks are doomed, right, They're always gonna be terrible. They go into the spiral, they talk about Dolan, who, by the way, for the record, I love very musical, very dynamic team owner. And the other half they're fans of RJ. Barrett, They're fans of Quentin Grimes and the
other young players. Plus they just thought three first round picks was too much to give up for Donovan Mitchell, an undersized point guard or shooting guard to go along with their undersized point guard.
Fair and I.
Think there's also what has gotten missed a little bit is that there's a group of Knicks fans that are like I'm tired of us just going out and trying to get stars.
I just don't think it works for us.
We've done it, it's never ended up having some positive effect, maybe hype, but we've never won a title from it. We want to build through the draft, we want to build up young players. We want to get good organically and then maybe, just maybe will support this squad. And now they have that for the first time in ages, they've got the ability to grow a young core. Only because the Mitchell trade blew up, and mostly now people are dissecting the trade, trying to figure out why the
deal fell through, why Donovan ended up in Cleveland. So much conspiracy theories amok. Some people say that Danny Ainge was just so petty. He told Donovan Mitchell, I'm not sending you where you want to go. You've been on this little New York City like policy tour. You've been kissing babies from the Bronx to Brooklyn to Long Islands. You've been at every Knicks. You've been at Mets games and Yankee games and Islanders games and Rangers games. You
know what, Donovan, fuck you enjoy Cleveland? Go to a Guardian's game? How about that. I don't know if that's true, but it's an amazingly a testament to how amazingly petty the uh danny aingels. The origins may go back, though, in terms of the bad blood, to the first round of the playoffs. Why you say, well, Knicks executives decided they were gonna put their their shoes on the on the hardwood at a playoff game that they had no
staking their team had been eliminated. But yet we see Knicks executives court side for a playoff game.
Quart side.
Won't even sit just in the in the nosebleeds in a box in the suite. No, no, in the area that the scouts sit. No, no court side.
So you see us and we see you.
Why because they were simultaneously courting Jalen Brunson chitching and Donovan Mitchell chit ching at once. Dallas Mavericks played the Utah Jazz in the first round, and old boy were the Utah Jazz. Mad Zach Low said this on his podcast. I've seen some reports that say, well, the Jazz were upset, Donovan Mitchell maybe wasn't all in forever with the Utah and as punishment, will send him to a place he doesn't want to go.
Were the Jazz mad? Yes?
Was it that the reason that they traded him to Cleveland? Probably not the only reason, but it's a phenomenal, nice little cherry on top and as an interesting aside to how the deal went down. Gerson Roses you may know the name, you may not, ancillary player in the NBA space, but recently fired from the Timberwolves as a GM for an extramarritoral affair with someone inside the organization, also accusations
of contributing to a toxic work environment. He was the one responsible for the day to day talks of the Nicks and the Jazz. Why you ask, well, Leon Rose likes him. He's hired Gerson Roses as a consultant. Apparently Knicks fan's not too happy about that, I would imagine, but he does have a good relationship with the jazz. But the problem is there's just too many people who have too many cooks in the kitchen. You've got Leon Rose, You've got world Wide West.
Where is he? We don't know.
By the way, an amazing side road I heard the world Wide West. If you meet him and he's like, hey.
Do you know.
Fat Joe and you're like, yeah, I know Fat Joe. Fat Joe met at a party and he'd go okay really and you're like, yes, really, And then he'll go ring ring, ring, ring, and FaceTime Fat Joe. Fat Joe will answer upon the first ring because he's fucking Worldwide West. How he's so powerful? I need to take a deeper dive, and he'll say what's up Fat Joe, and Fat Joe will probably say what's up my guy? And he'll say, hey,
do you know this guy right here? And presumably hopefully for you, Then Fat Joe will say yes, and then he'll say what's this guy? Like?
Are they legit? Is he legit?
Is he?
Is she?
Not legit? Oh? Okay, thanks guy, and then.
Just hang up.
Is that not the craziest receipt pulling that you've ever seen? And he does that like with everyone I've never heard of something.
Back to the story.
So you've got Leon Rose, you've got Worldwide West the receipt puller. You've got Tom Thibodeau in the mix. You've got Scott Perry, who I don't know if anyone still realizes he's there in a GM capacity, but he is.
I saw him at summer league. What does he do? I don't know.
Does anyone know, cap expert? Not sure, but he is still there. And now you've got on top of all of those guys and the owner who knows so much about basketball that he likes to get involved sometimes as well. Now you've got a consultant, Gerson Roses, not a GM, not an assistant GM, not a scout, nothing, a consultant handling the nitty gritty of maybe one of the most important trades in the last I don't know, twenty five years of Nick's basketball history. What's that saying about too
many chefs in the kitchen? M I've been watching the bear by the way. Phenomenal, phenomenal chef's kiss, they say. Not surprisingly, there was some disagreement with the Nick C squeet over Donovan Mitchell. Some people all in AKA Worldwide West and Fat Joe by the way, there's Fat Joe contingent as well. Others clearly valued the other assets. Somehow someway Quentin Grimes being untouchable. Not Grimes, the singer, Quinton
Grimes untouchable, second ear Quinton Grimes. He's six y six, he can play some defense, but untouchable in the dawno of Mitchell trade, Sir some valued RJ. Barrett very highly. They didn't see value in giving up Barrett and the rest of the young guns and three protected unprotected.
First said of them bridge too.
Far, throwing trader Danny the guy that we know likes to fuck every other trade partner and that's just his m O. That's not my opinion, that is fact. Well, what you get is a complete puff piece where in the Boston Globe about this deal. Some when I said, I pulled my Brian Windhort's glasses on when I saw that, I said, why would the Boston Globe do that?
Why would they do that?
Well, Danny Ainge and his roots to Boston doesn't have a lot of roots with Utah. Also, whatever sort of bargain basement newspaper that they have there in Salt Lake, that's not moving anyone but the Boston Globe writing a full on, in depth article about what went down and how the Knicks missed out on Donovan Mitchell and how it's not Danny Ainge's fault. Come on with one of
the greatest shill journalists in life, Gary Washburn. No way, Danny Ainge was responsible for the Knicks talks breaking down. I was like, hmm, interesting Danny Inge leveraging old relationships to spin a narrative to make himself look better in terms of Cleveland, Cause that matters as well. Talk about nuts on the table, talk about big swinging Dick Kobe Altman.
Holy fuck, I didn't know he headed in him. I didn't know he had laid around in the weeds waiting for the Knicks to do nixt things get too arrogant. Danny Ainge continue to push back randoms involved in the trade discussions.
They say, you know what, we're out as soon as RJ.
Barrett gets his extension, we're back in. Actually, we'd like to offer you Lori Markenen, Colin Sexton and a boatload of picks. How's that work done done? What a dynamic team they were last year? They had Ricky Ricky Rubio again. They've got a healthy Colin Sexton. Ideally they don't have to pay Colin Sexton very much. They've got a bunch of guys who've made the All Star Game recently, as recently as last year. And they said, you know what, East is too stacked. We gotta make a move. We
got to make a move. I think this makes them a player. I think this makes them in my opinion, considering that they were somewhere between three and five last year all year until Rubio went down with an acl and then Jared Allen went down with a finger injury. Before that, they were rolling number one defensive team in the league. And now you add a guy who can get you a bucket when things get ugly, You've got him,
You've got Garland. I think this makes him better than Philly, not saying a lot because Philly added PJ.
Tucker.
They added some dogs on this team. And I do like Embiid more than pretty much every other center in the league. But goddamn, this Cleveland team with multiple All Stars and youth, they really could finish four in the
East for in the East. And I think this also puts us in a different discussion with Kobe Altman, Like this seriously puts you in a new conversation when you come out of the woodwork and you are Cleveland, Ohio and you find a way to get a star from New York who wants to go to New York, who's been on a summer tour inside of New York with the shirt off, with a Mets hat on everything, and you find a way to steal him away from a team who is desperate to get him. That gives a
whole new level of respect to you. And people are already saying, which I think as actually might be true, is that Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland are a top five backcourt in the NBA. Now my top five Chris Paul and Booker until Chris Paul is dead probably soon, Klay Thompson and Steph until Clay Thompson is dead, which is probably soon, John Morant and Desmond Bain.
Very underrated backcourt.
Desmond Bain, I don't need to tell you, but if you forgot, he's one of the best three point shooters in the league. Even with his little alligator arms, he can still play defense.
He's number three. They're number three.
Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland I think are number four and young and de Jon Tamurray.
Two all stars along with an All.
Star center, probably the best rookie in the draft last year outside of Scottie Barnes. But people are very hot high on what Evan Mobley can do. Then you add in Kevin Love, one of the best role players in the league right now, alongside Ricky Rubio, the heart and soul of this team.
Holy shit.
As for the.
Knicks, this is now an exploring year.
What do you have? Who is Obie Toppin? Who is Quentin Grimes? Are Barrett RJ?
Barrett Good?
I don't know.
Is Jalen Brunson gonna get you the forty one point type of performances that he did when Luca was off the floor or is he close to the guy we saw a Villanova somewhere in between. And we know that Tibbs hates the kids. That's what he does. He hates kids. But he might not have a choice. You might have the screws put on you and say, listen, TIBs, it's time for you to play the young guns, and to play them from game one to see what we have. But I do know they're not done.
I know that they are sick.
I ran in funnily enough, I ran into Gerson Roses and Tom Thibodeaux at Summer League. Gerson Roses very friendly, not surprising, awesome. Guy knew him back in Minnesota. So I asked him what it was up to and he said what am I up to getting TIBs some more talent?
Boy? Did I not?
I had no idea When he said that, he really meant it. But I tell you what, the priority to get Tibbs more talent was paramount, and this was after the Jalen Brunson deal.
So who have they added since Crickets? No one? Nobody? Am I missing anyone? Nobody? They've extended RJ. Barrett, So it doesn't look like they're.
Going to get more talent in the aftermath of messing out on Donovan Mitchell. We'll see how these youngsters develop, whether Tips plays them together, whether Leon Rose and Worldwide West, who's face timing everyone is facetiming another star who might be disgruntled. Maybe there's trays up their sleeves in February, But if that was their goal, then I'm pretty confident it's still the case now. So we'll have to see what they end up with closer to February.