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Signing RJ Barrett to a contract extension will make trading for Donovan Mitchell a bit more difficult for the New York Knicks, but they did try a variety of options before it got to that point.
Barrett signed an extension that will pay him up to $120 million over four years, making it very similar to the one that Julius Randle is on starting this season. However, Randle is not actively being coveted in trade talks, so his salary isn’t the current topic of discussion.
With all that said, The Athletic’s Shams Charania says Barrett could very well still be trade despite the extension, but this will be more difficult to pull off.
“I’m told the Knicks will continue to pursue Donovan Mitchell … RJ Barrett could very well end up being in a potential deal,” he said on Bally Sports’ “The Rally.”
Barrett Included in Recent Offer
The latest offer the Knicks made to the Jazz even included Barrett, albeit just before he inked the new deal with New York.
“Their most recent offer, I’m told, included RJ Barrett as well as two unprotected first-round picks,” he said. “That was not deemed as not being close enough by the Utah Jazz in the trade and that’s why we saw the New York Knicks move forward with their own business and getting done this RJ Barrett extension.”
Trading Barrett in a Mitchell deal will prove to be tough for both sides because the forward’s new contract comes with a “poison pill” provision. Here’s how ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski lays it out:
“For trade purposes, the poison pill is computed with a formula that would put the Knicks’ outgoing salary for a Barrett trade at $10.9 million but require the incoming salary for a team acquiring him to be $26.2 million. The restriction will be lifted next offseason July 1,” he wrote.
The Jazz might not want to take that on, and could instead focus on getting more draft picks from the Knicks in a trade, or they could just decide to keep Mitchell going forward.
There’s a real chance that things could end up dragging into the season, and Mitchell could start the year as a member of the Jazz, despite rebuilding going on around him.
There’s Still Hope
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, a trade is still on the table for both sides, so it’s not like the Barrett extension put an end to everything.
“Deal could still happen without RJ Barrett,” he said. “It just means the Knicks, I think would have to be willing to go to a place they hadn’t been willing to go when you talk about draft compensation, and first-round picks, and unprotected first rounders. The Knicks hadn’t been willing to go to where the Jazz have been asking them to.”
With the latest proposal only including two first rounders, it seems like the two sides are far apart on a deal, but the Knicks do have the assets required to get Mitchell. It will come down to how bad they want him.
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