So let me get this straight. The Knicks had declared RJ Barrett as "untouchable" from the very beginning of the negotiations. The reports have been that the Jazz don't want RJ Barrett and that the Knicks want to keep him. So what exactly does this change? Nothing. IF the previous reports were true.
IF they were not, then Barrett doesn't seem to have been so untouchable since the newest report is that Rose had put a deadline of Monday to trade him or to re-sign him to this 120M contract. Either way, the Knicks seem to value him very highly and IF the Jazz actually wanted Barrett, he would have come at a cost of not getting at least 2-3 1st round picks. This BTW has been my contention ever since the "untouchable" reports came about - if he really was untouchable, Rose should just sign him and take him off the table. Well... he kind of did, but not before reportedly being really close to trading him, so don't know what that means.
Now if trade talks have broken down, then this might lead us to believe Ainge actually DID WANT RJ Barrett. But if he didn't then this signing shouldn't affect much of anything in the Donovan Mitchell negotiations.
I personally think key component to our tanking efforts is not trading Mitchell specifically, but trading all the vets that can help us win games. Why? Because Mitchell is the player that can return us premier assets back. Our other vets very likely can't. So there isn't much opportunity cost to trading the vets now, while there might be some if we trade Mitchell now for a sub-par offer. IMO we should trade everybody who can return any value now and can contribute to winning. Conley, Bojan, Beasley, Clarkson... trade them all. And if you can get one or both of the Lakers picks, do it. Enter the season with Mitchell and trash roster around him. Get one of the premier picks in the draft... reevaluate next year. See if there is better market for Mitchell next summer. Or if the Knicks become more desperate in February.
IF they were not, then Barrett doesn't seem to have been so untouchable since the newest report is that Rose had put a deadline of Monday to trade him or to re-sign him to this 120M contract. Either way, the Knicks seem to value him very highly and IF the Jazz actually wanted Barrett, he would have come at a cost of not getting at least 2-3 1st round picks. This BTW has been my contention ever since the "untouchable" reports came about - if he really was untouchable, Rose should just sign him and take him off the table. Well... he kind of did, but not before reportedly being really close to trading him, so don't know what that means.
Now if trade talks have broken down, then this might lead us to believe Ainge actually DID WANT RJ Barrett. But if he didn't then this signing shouldn't affect much of anything in the Donovan Mitchell negotiations.
I personally think key component to our tanking efforts is not trading Mitchell specifically, but trading all the vets that can help us win games. Why? Because Mitchell is the player that can return us premier assets back. Our other vets very likely can't. So there isn't much opportunity cost to trading the vets now, while there might be some if we trade Mitchell now for a sub-par offer. IMO we should trade everybody who can return any value now and can contribute to winning. Conley, Bojan, Beasley, Clarkson... trade them all. And if you can get one or both of the Lakers picks, do it. Enter the season with Mitchell and trash roster around him. Get one of the premier picks in the draft... reevaluate next year. See if there is better market for Mitchell next summer. Or if the Knicks become more desperate in February.